


Perfect Pitch

by schroedingersabsurdism



Category: Pitch Perfect (Movies)
Genre: F/F, one shots, some au's
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-20
Updated: 2018-03-20
Packaged: 2019-03-07 09:39:45
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 34,630
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13432011
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/schroedingersabsurdism/pseuds/schroedingersabsurdism
Summary: A collection of one-shots.





	1. Hogwarts: A Love Story

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry Potter AU.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Jessica Smith, Ashley Jones; Jessley  
> Stacie Conrad, Aubrey Posen; Staubrey  
> Chloe Beale, Beca Mitchell; Bechloe

“Chloe, please? Just one night!”

“Jessica, that’s what you said last night. And the night before _that_ , and the night before _thaaat_ …” Chloe teased good-naturedly. Jessica smiled sheepishly. “Don’t worry, I got you hon. But tomorrow, you seriously need to tell me all about this girl. What’s her name, again?”

“Ashley.” Jessica smiled. Chloe returned the expression.

“Ashley. You need to fill me in, like, hm…” Chloe feigned confusion, putting a finger to her chin. Suddenly she perked up, pointing said finger in the air. “Oh, I know! Like how you two even met!” Jessica smiled sheepishly again and ducked her head.

“I will! I promise. Tomorrow.” Chloe gave her a deadpan look before waving her away.

“Go, go. But try not to be late.” Jessica bobbed her head rapidly before grabbing her cloak and running off as quietly as she could.

“Thank you so much, Chloe!” she rushed out in a hushed tone. Pulling her arms through her coat, she pulled it tight around her before slipping out and through the various barrels. Pausing, she looked down the corridor. Biting her lip for a split second, she turned the other way and found the portrait of a gigantic silver fruit bowl. Leaning forward, she gently tickled the pear, causing it to morph into a large green door handle. Stepping through, she tiptoed through the kitchens, hurriedly twisting her head to look at the tables.

“Miss Smith?” Jessica squeaked before slapping a hand over her mouth and turning around. A small house-elf stood behind her, smiling warmly with his hand behind his back.

“Dobby!” Jessica breathed a sigh of relief.

“Here is the muffin Jessica made.” He procured a simple blueberry muffin and stepped forward towards her. She leaned down and took it, carefully hiding it in her cloak. “Jessica is going to visit Miss Jones?” Jessica blushed and nodded. Dobby smiled more widely. “Jessica makes very good muffins! Dobby is sure Ashley will love it.”

“Thank you, Dobby,” Jessica replied, a bit more unsure. She was rushed in preparing the snack, secretly making it between classes and leaving it to the house-elf for safekeeping. “I have to, um…”

“Go!” he replied, giving her a small wave before walking away into the shadows of the kitchen. Jessica smiled and ran out of the room.

Having snuck out and around Hogwarts for the past few months (the thought made her blush harder at the realisation she was doing the repeated escapades for a _girl_ ), she made her way to the astronomy tower with alarming ease. Glancing around the corner, she confirmed no one was around, although she and Ashley had specifically planned a date in which they knew astronomy class was not occurring. Breathing a sigh of relief, she stepped into the light and looked around.

“Hey, there you are,” came a voice from behind her, and she squeaked again, jumping and turning around. Ashley stood in her robes, hands covering her mouth.

“Shit, sorry Jess! I didn’t mean to scare you.” She wrapped her arms around Jessica’s waist though the blonde just smiled and shook her head.

“Don’t worry about it, silly. You know me.” Ashley’s gaze softened before she leaned forward to peck Jessica on the lips. “I brought you something.” Ashley pulled away with a surprised look on her face before Jessica reached into her cloak and pulled out the muffin.

“Jessica! You didn’t have to!” Ashley shook her head and pulled Jessica closer with one arm, using the other to take the muffin.

“I know,” Jessica sing-songed. “I wanted to.” Ashley grinned, taking a bite.

“It’s delicious. Want some?” She offered the muffin and tilted her head to kiss Jessica on the cheek. Jessica beamed but shook her head.

“It’s yours.” She gently pushed it back towards Ashley and looked into her eyes, smiling. Ashley chuckled and leaned forward again. Jessica placed her hands on Ashley’s cheeks and kissed her slowly. Her thumbs began stroking Ashley’s cheekbones, and it took all of Ashley’s will not to drop the muffin in favour of tackling the girl to the ground and maybe removing her cloak and her tie and probably the rest of her clothes. She hummed contently as Jessica allowed her to slip a tongue inside her mouth.

Unfortunately, her fantasies were cut short when Jessica pulled back and placed a hand on Ashley’s chest when Ashley went to continue the kiss. Ashley pouted, and Jessica kissed her protruding bottom lip before gently biting it. Ashley’s eyes widened as Jessica casually pulled at it, letting her teeth rake down the inside of her lip. _Well then._

“Finish your food so we can cuddle for a little bit,” Jessica teased, wrapping her arms around Ashley’s neck. Ashley rolled her eyes and took a particularly large bite out of the muffin. “Hey! I said finish it, not choke on it.”

“Wow, never thought I’d hear you say that…” Ashley muttered under her breath, chewing and taking another bite. She turned to look outside at the stars dotting the dark sky before turning back to see Jessica gaping, a blush overtaking her usually pale face. “What?”

“U-um…” Jessica averted her gaze, and Ashley felt a lightbulb turning on over her head.

“Oh. Ohhh… Sorry. My roommate must be rubbing off on me.” _Damn it Stacie._ The girl was always ready for a sex-themed, witty remark to just about everything.

“As long as she’s not rubbing _on_ you,” Jessica replied slowly, shyly smiling. Ashley blinked, and Jessica ducked her head.

“Chloe must be getting to you too, huh?” was all she said, raising her eyebrows and taking another bite, effectively finishing off the food. Jessica shrugged, hugging Ashley closely.

“Speaking of, did you want to hang out with us tomorrow? …well, today.” Ashley nodded slowly.

“Well, I guess now’s a good time as any to finally meet her… even though you’ve known my roommate the entire year.”

“Sorry,” was all Jessica said, ducking her head. Ashley shook her head and chuckled, then frowned.

“Wait.” Jessica tilted her head to stare at her curiously. “Does that mean the Slytherin girl will be coming too?”

“Aubrey?” Ashley barely restrained a scowl. “Hey! Aubrey is actually really nice… when she’s not worried about her grades.”

“Which is always,” Ashley grumbled. Jessica gave her a sympathetic smile.

“Chloe said Aubrey has some home troubles. Cut her some slack?” Ashley raised her eyebrows again. “And bring Stacie to help her… unwind?” Ashley chuckled.

“You realise Chloe’s going to bring… what’s her name?”

“Beca?”

“Yeah, music girl too, and we’re just going to have a circus on our hands at that point.” Jessica bit her lip, recalling the last time she was with Beca, Chloe, and Aubrey. She was constantly surprised to see Aubrey become angrier than the last time she was around Beca – the blonde never failed to disappoint.

She thanked Merlin Ashley was friends with the blonde’s girlfriend.

“They have to get along somehow,” she finally replied.

“They’re roommates!”

“Clearly, that’s not helping.”

“We don’t have to be there for their ‘bonding’,” Ashley whined.

“We can sneak off if we need to,” Jessica reassured. “Or Stacie will drag Aubrey away. I wouldn’t worry.” Ashley sighed but nodded, pulling Jessica tighter.

“Fine, fine. Now stop talking about them so we can cuddle and stare at some stars.” Jessica giggled and pulled herself out of the embrace to sit on the floor. Ashley followed her, and Jessica immediately threw her arm over her stomach and pulled herself closer. Ashley let out a content sigh, and Jessica hummed, closing her eyes as she made herself comfy against Ashley’s side. Ashley absentmindedly began tracing circles on the girl’s hip and barely registered her partner’s breathing becoming slower and her grip loosening. Within minutes, her own eyes began closing against her weak will, and she hand began slowing until it came to a stop atop the blonde’s hip.

The night wore on until thin beams of light began trickling in through the windows as the sun came up. Neither girls moved from their position even as the light hit their faces. They remained still even as the sound of footsteps echoed on the stairs and two girls were chatting between themselves. Coming to the top, both girls stopped. One put her hands on her hips and the other smirked.

“Why, these two!” Aubrey huffed, determinedly walking forward. Stacie reached out and grabbed her arm before she got too far. “What?! They’ve clearly broken school rules!”

“So?” Stacie asked lackadaisically, pulling Aubrey closer to her. “It’s not like you haven’t before.” Aubrey sputtered then turned to look away from Stacie’s victorious smile.

“That was one time!” Stacie scoffed.

“That was definitely not one time.” Aubrey huffed again and jerked her arm away to cross it with the other over her chest.

“Whatever,” she grumbled, and Stacie grinned like the Cheshire Cat and rubbed her back.

“Besides, they’re cute.” Aubrey spared a glance at the couple, seamlessly fitting together, relaxed and undisturbed. She threw her arms up and sighed.

“You’re right. But we still have to wake them up!” Stacie shrugged.

“Better us than a stricter prefect,” she acquiesced.

“’Stricter prefect’,” Aubrey mocked. Stacie smirked and leaned down to kiss Aubrey’s cheek.

“You know you can’t fight love. Think about it! It’s like one of those cheesy romance novels you like.” Aubrey eyed her warily.

“You can stop talking now, Conrad.” Stacie grinned and held up her hands.

“Sorry babe,” she replied, the actual apologetic tone of her voice curiously missing. Turning back, she walked up to the sleeping couple and loudly cleared her throat.

Jessica furrowed her brows and slowly opened her eyes. Blearily, she slowly dragged her arm off Ashley’s stomach and rubbed her eyes. From above her, Stacie smiled as Aubrey walked up behind her, unconsciously intertwining their fingers.

“Well, well, well,” the tall brunette drawled, her thumb stroking the top of Aubrey’s hand. “What do we have here?”

Jessica blinked rapidly, turning over and looking up. She first registered green eyes before her gaze travelled down the body, taking in the rather loose tie and open shirt under the unbuttoned cloak. “Well! Miss Smith! If you keep staring like that, I think you’ll have _two_ angry women to deal with. Though I definitely don’t blame you. I mean, the ladies- hey!”

Aubrey rolled her eyes, her hand retreating from where she had flicked Stacie’s cheek. “Like I said, Conrad, you can stop talking now.” At Aubrey’s voice, Jessica’s eyes flew open, and she squeaked.

“Aubrey!” Turning, she shook Ashley. “Sweetie, wake up!” Ashley groaned, and Jessica couldn’t help but roll her eyes. “ _Ashley._ ”

“Oh, calm down Jess. Aubrey here won’t report you.” Aubrey raised a thin eyebrow at her girlfriend, and Stacie pulled her closer. “Riiight, Bree?” Aubrey sighed.

“You get one freebie,” she grumbled. Jessica stopped her shaking Ashley to look up at her with furrowed eyebrows.

“Um, hasn’t Stacie _only_ gotten freebies?” she asked innocently. Aubrey sent her a glare and Jessica flinched and shrunk back, returning to waking her very drowsy companion. Stacie used her free hand to cup Aubrey’s chin and turn her back to look at her.

“Aubrey,” was all she said, and Aubrey rolled her eyes.

“Sorry,” she muttered.

“Don’t worry,” Stacie continued loudly. “She’ll be chill by the time we hang out.” Jessica blushed as Ashley _finally_ sat up with a yawn.

“And what is that supposed to mean?” Aubrey demanded knowing very well it was an empty threat. Stacie winked and pulled her closer to whisper something in her ear. Immediately, Aubrey turned red and pulled back sputtering.

“Also, you love me,” Stacie added casually with a genuine smile on her face. Aubrey shook her head and smiled back.

“I do,” she whispered before turning back to see Jessica helping Ashley onto her feet. “All right, you two. How long?”

“How long have we been doing this, or how long have we been banging?” Ashley quipped, followed by a yawn.

“ _Ashley!_ ” Jessica cried, burying her face into her hands. Aubrey blinked, and Stacie cheered, high-fiving Ashley. Aubrey rolled her eyes and face-palmed, sighing.

“Stacie Conrad, you are a terrible influence.” Stacie smirked and pulled their locked hands over Aubrey’s head, squeezing her before undoing her work. Aubrey shook her head and rolled her eyes again. “The first one,” she dead-panned. Ashley shrugged.

“A few months.” She rubbed Jessica’s back until the blonde, brighter red than Aubrey had been, finally looked up again.

“That explains it. I was wondering how you two got here without Jessica knocking over all the barrels next to the kitchen.”

“I stopped after the first month!” she squeaked. Her clumsy nature was only… ‘somewhat’ famous amongst her friends. And everyone in her classes. And just about her entire house.

“And was last night a regular occurrence or more… _innocent_ than- Aubrey!” Aubrey had roughly shoved the taller girl with her free hand, and Stacie pouted. Immediately, Jessica’s face returned to her hands, and Ashley shrugged slowly before throwing an arm over Jessica’s shoulders. “Well! I’ll be!”

“’I’ll be’ indeed,” Aubrey muttered with an authentic Southern accent. She sighed and shook her head yet again. “If you two make it in time for breakfast, I… _suppose…_ ” she paused to throw a glare towards her smirking girlfriend, “I can pretend I didn’t see anything. Just… try not to fall asleep next time.” Ashley and Jessica exchanged bemused expressions before Jessica nodded fervently.

“We’re sorry!” Aubrey rolled her eyes and waved off her apology.

“What are you two even doing up here so early?” Ashley inquired, finally seeming to fully comprehend the situation and quickly brushing off her robes.

“Picking up star charts for my astronomy report. I realised I need to do additional calculations _after_ I had already finalised most of my data, so-” Aubrey cleared her throat before Stacie could fully begin rambling. “What? Oh, sorry.”

“Nerd,” Ashley teased, her hand running up and down Jessica’s back. Stacie shrugged and smiled sheepishly.

“Don’t tell anyone. I have to keep my rep as the dumb hot one,” she whispered conspiratorially. Aubrey raised an eyebrow her.

“Honey, you’re already in Ravenclaw. If that isn’t suspicious enough already, I don’t know what is.” Stacie waved her off.

“I just tell everyone it’s ‘cause I’m hot. Us Ravenclaws are good-looking, in case you haven’t noticed.” She gestured as her well-endowed self, leading Aubrey to shake her head, and Jessica discreetly gave Ashley a once-over and hummed her approval. The three turned to her in shock, but she flashed them an innocent smile only betrayed by the light pink brushing the apples of her cheeks.

“Okay, but seriously,” Aubrey finally said, “Hurry and get to breakfast.” The two girls nodded and grabbed each other’s hands.

“I’ll see you there,” Stacie added cheerfully, pulling away from Aubrey to actually go to sift through a stack of papers for her star chart. Ashley nodded and pulled Jessica away.

“I’ll see you two later! And thank you so much!” Jessica called over her shoulder, giggling as she dashed away with Ashley.

Ashley soon joined in with her giggling until they reached the deserted corridor leading to the Hufflepuff dorms. “See you at breakfast?” Ashley asked unnecessarily, hugging Jessica.

“Of course. Oh, and Ash?” Ashley hummed, kissing Jessica’s temple repeatedly. Jessica smiled. “What do you want to do for our anniversary?”

“Oh! Hm… This is year three, right?”

“Mmhm.”

“Hm… Do you think you can sneak me into the Hufflepuff common room? Seriously, your guys’ common room is sooo comfortable.”

“It’s designed for that, you know.”

“And that’s what makes it amazing. Let’s just cuddle on one of those comfy chairs and talk by the fire.” Jessica smiled and tightened her grip around Ashley’s neck.

“That sounds wonderful.” Ashley chuckled and squeezed her tightly before finally holding her at arm’s length. “I love you, sweetheart.”

“I love you too, Jess.” Jessica bit her lip again before holding Ashley by the back of her neck and pulling her forward for one last, long kiss. Ashley sighed into the kiss before finally, gently pushing her girlfriend back.

“And people think Stacie’s rubbing off on _me_ ,” she mused, resting her forehead against Jessica’s. “You’re the worst.”

“Don’t worry. You can come to my room later tonight,” Jessica whispered before stepping away. Ashley blinked, staring in shock as Jessica twirled around with a coy wave and disappearing behind the stack of barrels. Ashley shook her head and chuckled to herself, pulling her robes around herself tighter before dashing off for the Ravenclaw towers.

“Ugh, finally!” was what Jessica first heard when she stepped into her room, immediately coming face-to-face with a disgruntled Chloe, hands on her hips. Jessica smiled sheepishly and ducked her head again. “Where were you, girl?! I was getting pretty worried by three AM.”

“Ash and I fell asleep,” she muttered, throwing her cloak off and rummaging around her trunk for a fresh uniform. Turning around, she found Chloe waggling her eyebrows.

“’Fell asleep’, huh?” Jessica rolled her eyes.

“I’m serious! Aubrey and Stacie found us.” Chloe blanched.

“ _Aubrey_ found you, and you’re not already in detention?”

“Aubrey _and_ Stacie found us,” Jessica corrected.

“…ohhh.” Chloe nodded slowly. “You know, that girl is a godsend. Anyone who can keep tiger mom in check must be a superhero.”

“Hey, isn’t that your best friend? Be nice!” Jessica teased, pulling off her tie and shirt.

“Yes, it _is_ my best friend, which means I can give her all the shit I want after the past three years.” Jessica grinned. “Okay, but anyway, give me the deets. Now.” Jessica gave her a confused look. “You said you’d explain, remember? I’ve been covering you for months, and you never exactly talked about this mysterious girl.”

“Oh!” Jessica smiled sheepishly. “Sorry. Okay, well, what do you want to know?” She smoothed down her shirt and began looking for a pair of pants.

“What’s her name?”

“Ashley Jones.” Chloe nodded.

“Ravenclaw, right? I know she’s not this house. Obviously.” Jessica nodded. “Okay… how long have you two been dating?”

“Today’s actually our three-year anniversary,” said Jessica, beaming at Chloe. The redhead gasped and squealed, jumping up from her bed.

“Oh, congratulations! I’m so happy for you two!” She gave the blonde a hug after she had tugged on her pants.

“Thanks!”

“Okay, how did you two meet?”

“We were partnered for a charms project and just kind of… immediately hit it off.”

“Love at first sight?” Chloe teased. Jessica blushed.

“Um, actually… kind of?” Chloe gaped. “We started dating, like, a month after meeting.”

“Wait, what?!” Jessica cringed slightly. “How did I never know?!”

“Um… you… never asked?” Jessica offered weakly, still smiling.

“First kiss?”

“The day we started dating.”

“…and I never knew!” Chloe threw her arms up, and Jessica giggled. The redhead frowned suddenly.

“You two aren’t… like, you aren’t trying to hide it, are you…?” Jessica tilted her head.

“I mean, not really? Everyone just sort of assumes we’re besties. Which, I mean, we are too.”

“Well, I mean…” Chloe looked off out the window. “Like... Bree’s parents would never… _approve_ of Stacie. I was wondering if that’s the same for you two…?” Jessica’s eyes widened and her mouth formed an _o_.

“Oh! No, no, our parents know, don’t worry. Like I said, everyone just sort of thinks we’re best friends and nothing more.” She frowned. “Aubrey and Stacie though…” Chloe winced.

“Yeah… Aubrey’s family isn’t… well, let’s just say they’re conservative and Southern. But don’t worry! Stacie’s mom totally loves Aubrey.” Jessica breathed a sigh of relief. “Also… just… I know it’s totally obvious, but don’t mention this to Bree.” Jessica nodded quickly, and Chloe smiled. She cleared her throat.

“Okay, so you two are totally in love after a month?” she teased.

“Kind of like how you’re totally in love with Beca after a day?” Jessica teased back. Chloe gaped at her before shutting her mouth with a blush.

“Hey, we’re talking about you, not me!” Jessica giggled.

“We’ve met each other parents. We split our summers – half the time with her parents and half the time with mine. Her parents keep bugging us to get married…”

“Oh?!” Chloe bounced up again, and Jessica looked down, tying her shoes.

“…we’ve talked about it. We want to wait till we’re out of school and have jobs and stuff… and we want to move in together first…” Chloe gasped.

“No way! That’s Weird Sisters serious!”

“Dixie Chicks serious.” Chloe frowned.

“Who?”

“Sorry, muggle band.” Chloe hummed.

“You need to introduce me to more muggle things.”

“Beca hasn’t yet?”

“Well, I’ve never been to her house or anything. I’ve only met her dad, and he’s the magical one.” Jessica nodded slowly. “Is Ashley…?”

“Muggle-born too. That’s probably part of the reason we clicked so quickly.” Jessica smiled fondly at the memory. Chloe bounced on her bed again and pulled Jessica with her to the common room once Jessica finished with her other shoe.

“I’m so excited!”

“Me too!” The two girls giggled as they followed their classmates to the Great Hall.

“And I’m super excited to meet this girl!” Jessica smiled warmly.

“I’m sorry for not introducing you two earlier.”

“Hey, we have our own lives. But, for future reference, you’d better invite me to your wedding or I’ll actually kill you.” Chloe gave her a deadpan look before the two burst out into laughter.

“Of course, Chloe. And you’d better invite me to yours and Beca’s wedding.” Chloe simply grinned as the doors opened. Jessica took Chloe’s arm and carefully weaved amongst the students to the Ravenclaw table. Ignoring the stares they received, Jessica tapped Ashley’s shoulder. Beside her was Stacie.

“Hey babe,” Ashley greeted, patting the seat beside her. Jessica sat herself down with Chloe.

“Hi Ash. Hi Stace.” Stacie gave them a wave before turning towards the Slytherin table and shooting an overt wink at a certain blonde. Chloe followed her gaze, waved, then looked down the table to see her music-loving brunette. With a wide smile, she waved and barely restrained a squeal when Beca shyly, if not confusedly, waved back.

“Chloe,” Jessica began, breaking the girl out of her love-struck daze, “This is Ashley. Ashley, this is Chloe.” The two waved at each other.

“So you’re her roommate. Glad to finally meet you,” Ashley greeted.

“And you’re the girlfriend! I’m glad to _finally_ meet you. Happy anniversary!” Jessica blushed in between the two. “Oh, and hi Stacie!”

“Hey Chlo. Wait, did she just say anniversary?”

“Three years,” Ashley confirmed. Stacie perked up.

“Hey, congratulations! How are you two celebrating?”

“With a night in and some anniversary sex.”

“Hell yeah,” Stacie said, laughing at Jessica’s expense. To Jessica’s chagrin, Chloe laughed as well, nodding appreciatively.

“Ashley,” she whined, and Ashley put an arm around her waist with an affectionate smile. Chloe sighed happily.

“Oh, Chlo?” Jessica asked, having gotten over her brief embarrassment. “Did you want to hang out with us? So you can get to know Ashley better.” Which meant Beca was invited. She turned to Stacie. “You’re invited too, of course!” Which meant Aubrey was invited.

Ashley cringed.

“Definitely!” Chloe chirped. Stacie nodded as well.

“Great!” Jessica replied, ignoring her girlfriend’s grunt. “Lunch? I’ll get us into the Hufflepuff common room.”

“Ooh!” Stacie exclaimed excitedly, having never actually stepped foot in the place.

“It’s real nice,” Ashley told her. “Super cozy.”

“Can’t wait.” Stacie grinned. Jessica smiled at her, then Chloe who was bobbing her head enthusiastically, then finally at Ashley. Ashley smiled back at her and leaned down for a chaste kiss. With a happy sigh, Jessica leaned against Ashley’s shoulder and put her hand on her thigh. Ashley set her own hand on top, and the two exchanged a final glance before the food appeared in front of them and they began eating. As Stacie and Chloe talked around them, Ashley squeezed Jessica’s hand, and Jessica intertwined their fingers, holding on tightly.

“Happy three years,” she breathed to Ashley. Ashley smiled and kissed the top of her head.

“Happy three years.”


	2. Two Sides of Pain

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: https://incorrectbardenbellas.tumblr.com/post/168024379171/ashley-this-date-is-so-fucking-boring-jessica

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Jessica Smith, Ashley Jones; Jessley

“This date is so fucking boring!” Jessica heaved a sigh and uncharacteristically rolled her eyes.

“This is not a date. I said that I was going to the store.”

“Then why did you invite me?” With another slow sigh, Jessica glanced down at her list and plucked a can of peas from the shelf in front of her.

“I specifically said, ‘Don’t come with me’, and you said, ‘Fuck you, I’ll do whatever I want!’ and followed me here,” she replied slowly, attempting to keep herself from screaming with forced, measured breaths. _Then again, it’s probably better that she came._

“…I don’t recall,” Ashley said after a pregnant pause. Jessica had already began moving down the end of the aisle towards the meats. “Hey! Where’re ya goin’?!” Jessica’s grip tightened on her basket.

“Finishing picking up the food. Because we are here. In a store. Getting groceries. Like I said before.” Ashley frowned.

“But you don’t have to leave me.” Jessica sighed again.

“I didn’t leave you. You just didn’t follow me.” She side-eyed her companion. “I just need chicken. Do you think you can behave until then?”

“I am behaving.” Finally, Jessica let out a loud groan and silently walked off to pick up her chicken. “Hey!”

“Let’s just go,” she said curtly, grabbing Ashley’s hand and literally dragging her to the registers. She glanced at the cashier before hesitating and bringing her girlfriend to the self-checkout station, despite her very full basket. Ashley frowned confusedly.

“Go where?” Jessica accidentally slammed down the jar of marinara sauce on the scanner, wincing at the impact.

“Home.” As quickly as she could, she scanned the items, Ashley watching incredulously.

“Already?”

“I’m done. It’s fine.” Jessica shoved the list, in which only half the items were actually crossed off, back in her purse.

“Uh, are you sure?”

“Babe, it’s fine.” Jessica jabbed her card into the chip reader, her foot tapping impatiently as the machine read it. Ashley remained, much to Jessica's relief. Once Jessica put her card back in her purse, Ashley made a grab for the bags. “No, it’s fine. I got them all.” Ashley watched Jessica warily as the blonde struggled with the five bags before finding the most optimal grip on them all and stiffly began walking out.

“I can help…” Ashley muttered. Jessica resisted the urge to roll her eyes again, thinking back to how the other girl took about ten minutes to properly buckle her seatbelt. Jessica just shook her head and put the food on the ground when they approached her car. Fumbling with her keys, she caught them midair when they fell from her shaking grasp. “Whoa, how did you do that?!” Ashley asked with a gasp. Jessica managed to crack a grin.

“Years of being clumsy.” Finally, she re-oriented the keys and unlocked the boot. Hurriedly shoving all the groceries in the back, she slammed it down before motioning for Ashley to get into the passenger seat. Without another word, she plopped down in the driver’s seat with a sigh. Before she could fully close the door, Ashley, without Jessica seeing, had walked around the front of the car and put a hand on the handle.

“Ashley. Sweetie. What are you doing?” Jessica asked, clenching her jaw.

“You drove here! Let me drive us back.”

“You are in no condition to drive. Please. _Sit down._ ” Ashley pouted, and Jessica groaned loudly again.

“But Jeeess,” Ashley whined. Jessica closed her eyes and let her hands slowly slide from the steering wheel.

“You can drive all day tomorrow, if you want,” she tried, but the brunette fervently shook her head.

“No, let me drive now!”

“No.” Ashley gasped.

“Jess!”

“Ashley. You can’t drive.”

“Why not?!” Jessica slammed her palms on the steering wheel. Honestly, she couldn’t remember the last time she was so irritated. Considering her track record, probably never. It was amazing how badly her patience was being tested, and, if she was being frank, her girlfriend’s heavy pain-killers were beginning to win. Ashley jumped at Jessica’s outburst.

“I don’t know if you’re aware, _Ash_ , but you just had your wisdom teeth taken out and are completely loopy on pain meds. If you drove us, we’d both be dead.” Ashley gasped, her hands flying to her mouth.

“Dead?!” Jessica silently nodded, giving her a weary look. “No! You can’t die!”

“Then please.” Jessica’s hands gripped the steering wheel until her knuckles were white. “Let. Me. Drive.” Ashley paused to consider the proposition, then, much to Jessica’s relief, finally nodded and walked back to her side of the car. Jessica released a breath she didn’t know she was holding, sighing loudly.

“God help me,” she muttered, tugging her door shut. Ashley opened her door roughly, hitting the car beside her. Jessica winced. Her girlfriend plopped herself down and shut the door beside her, then turned to Jessica expectantly.

“…yes?”

“I thought you really wanted to drive.”

“More like I have to, but yes,” Jessica muttered. Ashley paused again.

“…so why aren’t you driving?”

“Buckle your seatbelt first.”

“My what?” Jessica groaned and finally let her forehead hit the steering wheel. Wordlessly, she leaned toward Ashley. The brunette, apparently expecting a kiss, closed her eyes and puckered her lips. Jessica rolled her eyes and reached around her for the seatbelt, shoving it into the lock.

“What’s this?” Ashley asked after realising she was not receiving a kiss. She gently pulled at the belt.

“Your seatbelt.”

“Oh. I remember now.” Jessica only grunted. The two drove in silence for less than two minutes before Ashley reached for the radio.

“Don’t,” Jessica said shortly, catching her hand.

“Don’t what?”

“Touch that. Please.”

“What? Why not?”

“Because, last time, you hit the volume by accident, and I got an earful of Wiz Khalifa at full volume,” Jessica retorted.

“So we can’t listen to anything?” Ashley whined.

“No. You can-” Jessica cut herself off, imagining Ashley singing whilst essentially high. “Uh, never mind. Just… we’re almost home.” Again, the two drove on in silence. _Get a hold of yourself_ , Jessica thought to herself, sighing softly and loosening her grip on the steering wheel. _Only a few more hours._

Of course, the few hours prior, Ashley’s behaviour wasn’t any more bearable. Upon waking up and seeing Jessica, who had actually been smiling back then, her first response was, “Who the hell are you?” Jessica’s smile immediately dropped.

“Uh, Jessica,” she had sputtered.

“…wait, I know you.” Jessica nodded with a hopeful expression.

“Yes, you do.” Ashley’s eyebrows furrowed.

“Um… did… wait, weren’t you yelling at me?” Jessica’s own eyebrows furrowed.

“Huh?” Ever since they had begun dating, they never truly yelled at each other. Sure, voices were raised a few times, but Jessica was never angry enough to yell, and she and Ashley rarely stayed mad for more than a few hours before calmly making up.

“Like, back in college. Didn’t you yell at me? Like, all the time?” Jessica blinked before face-palming.

“No, sweetie. That was Aubrey. Do you remember her?”

“Who?”

“Aubrey. She was the leader of the Barden Bellas, our _a capella_ group in freshman year?”

“…has she always been there?” Jessica blinked again.

“Um, well, she graduated after that year?”

“Graduated?”

“Yeah. You know… finished her degree?” Ashley nodded slowly.

“Did I finish my degree?”

“Yes. A few years ago. I did too.”

“Hm… wait a second. How do I know you again?” Jessica let out a long-suffering sigh, immediately knowing the day would be long.

A few more hours of explaining that _yes_ they had been dating for years and _yes_ they had known each other for a very long time and _yes_ they lived together (Ashley had honestly thought Jessica was lying about that one for about an hour, even after bringing her home), and they were sitting in the car, driving home from a disastrous grocery store trip.

The only consolation Jessica had was that Ashley, at least, had not knocked out a whole aisle of cans, unlike Beca when she had her own wisdom teeth removed. Rather, her wonderful girlfriend threw a discarded apple at a worker after it had fallen, thinking the poor guy had set a trap for her that she accidentally triggered. Jessica, face burning with more embarrassment than she ever thought possible, quickly dragged the protesting Ashley to the restroom and lectured her for half an hour on why that _was not acceptable_. When Jessica had the unfortunate chance of making eye contact with the boy again, she ducked her head, threw a twenty-dollar bill at his face, and literally ran to the other side of the store with Ashley.

Yeah. The day was long.

And Ashley even had the audacity, even after being unaware that she and Jessica were dating, to say the ‘date’ to the store was bad. Jessica briefly wondered if this was how Aubrey felt every day of their first few weeks of training back in freshman year. Casting a glance at Ashley, who was playing with the vent on the dashboard, she suddenly felt sympathetic to the stressed-out captain and made a note to send her flowers and chocolates.

“Are we there yet?” Ashley suddenly asked.

“It’s only been five minutes.”

“But that doesn’t answer my question.” They stopped at a red light, and Jessica took the time to gently rest her forehead on the steering wheel again.

“No, we are not.”

“When will we be there?”

“Give it another five minutes.” Ashley nodded and thankfully quieted down. As soon as the light turned green, Jessica took off. Frankly, it was impressive. Aubrey Posen, known ‘dictator’ of the Barden Bellas, the current political turmoil of the world, and almost being fired from her already low-paying job due to a ‘scandalous encounter with a customer’ (which, of course, turned out to be fake because she had far more self-worth than that and wasn’t actually, like, a shitty person)… Those events were walks in the park compared to her entire day with her loving girlfriend and probably future wife acting like a complete and total pain in the ass because of some wisdom teeth pain medication. If Jessica didn’t know better, she’d say the anesthesiologist gave Ashley too much. In turn, Jessica’s stress levels were off the charts, and she considered pulling a Stacie and drinking herself into oblivion just to save herself from complete and utter hell.

 _We have vodka in the cabinet_ , she reminded herself and promptly began speeding well over the limit, taking an overly sharp turn into their apartment complex.

“Whoa!” Ashley said, holding up her hands. “That was fun! Hey, do that more often!” She offered Jessica a lopsided grin, and Jessica simply shook her head, feeling her own grin form.

“Definitely not, honey.” Killing the ignition, she stood and went to retrieve the groceries as Ashley slowly let herself out. The difficult part was coming up.

Jessica tilted her head, biting her lip in considering her latest predicament: getting Ashley, who could barely walk straight, up their stairs whilst handling five bags of groceries. _Okay, maybe going to the store wasn’t my best idea…_ She sighed, then decided her best plan would be to bring the food up first, then go back down for Ashley, praying the girl wouldn’t move in the minute span.

“Okay. Babe. Love. Sweetheart.” Ashley turned to her. “Please. Just… please do me one favour.”

“Hm?”

“Just… please. Stay here. Don’t move. Please. I’ll be right back.” Ashley gasped and grabbed Jessica’s arm, almost leading to Jessica dropping three of the bags.

“Don’t leave me! I’m sorry! I’ll make it up to you! I’ll cook tonight! I’ll clean! Anything-”

“I’ll just be gone for a minute! Honestly!” Jessica pleaded, though she could feel she was fighting a losing battle. Again.

“Don’t leave me! Pleeease! Please please please-”

All right!” Jessica sighed slowly again, resting her head on Ashley’s shoulder. “Okay. We’ll try this again. Ashley, I need to put these groceries up by our door so I can get you upstairs. Can you please wait a _minute_ while I do that?” Ashley paused to consider the proposition, and Jessica, expecting this, simply made herself comfortable on Ashley’s shoulder.

“…okay,” Ashley finally said after a solid two minutes of thinking, and Jessica sighed loudly in relief. She looked up to see Ashley’s glazed-over gaze and shook her head. _Small victories._

“Thank you. I’ll be right back, okay?” Ashley nodded, and Jessica locked the car and began walking to their apartment. Every five steps or so, she glanced over her shoulder to make sure Ashley stayed true to her promise before running as quickly as she could up the stairs and almost throwing the bags down in front of the door. Turning, she began rushing back down only to trip on the third step and slam her knee into the railing.

“Ow, shit!” she swore, hanging onto the metal with her eyes closed as her knee throbbed. _I hate myself. I hate myself. Holy shit, I hate myself._

“Jess?! Baby, are you okay?” Jessica cracked an eye open to see Ashley’s concerned gaze below her. Whilst her girlfriend clearly had not fully listened ( _but she heard me trip into a fucking railing, so I can let her off_ ), she only moved closer to the stairs instead of going up them. Jessica sighed and limped down the rest of the way.

“I’m okay,” she grumbled, unconsciously holding her injured knee.

“Are you sure?” Ashley asked in a small voice, and Jessica finally smiled, if not exasperatedly, at her.

“I’m sure. I’ll ice it inside. Speaking of…” She held out her hand, and Ashley took it delicately, as if afraid she’s break the blonde further if she was too rough. “Let’s get you comfortable.” Leaning heavily on the railing, she led the brunette up the stairs, only stopping to swear twice, before falling against the door and fishing her keys from the purse again.

“When we go inside, I want you to lie on the couch,” she instructed, slotting the key into the lock.” Ashley nodded obediently. “Thank you.” Once the door swung up, Jessica held herself up to grab the bags and hobbled inside. Ashley did as she was asked and laid on the couch as Jessica, still limping, went about putting everything away. When putting the chicken in the freezer, she opened the door just quickly enough that it hit her injured knee, and she immediately fell to the ground with a yell.

“Jessica?! Are you okay?!” Ashley shouted from the couch. She sat up quickly, but the room began spinning, forcing her to lie back down again. _Ooh, bad idea…_ she thought, closing her eyes.

“I’m fine,” Jessica gritted out, literally lying on the floor. With one hand, she reached into the freezer and pulled out a few chunks of ice. Sitting up, she snagged a towel off the stove handle, wrapped the ice inside it, and pressed it against her kneecap, hissing when the coldness made contact. _I hate myself, I hate myself, I hate. My. Self._

As she pushed herself up, kicking the freezer closed, she considered calling someone but decided against it. She was almost there. _Once she goes to sleep, I am chugging down that vodka…_ Holding the ice to her knee, she awkwardly made her way to the couch where Ashley was lying. Satisfied in seeing the brunette with her eyes closed, Jessica went back to the kitchen, fully serious as she found their bottle of Skyy Vodka and poured herself shot after shot. On her third, she decided to take a break, headed back to the living room, and flopped down on the free chair. Feeling herself about to go to pass out, she sighed and relaxed further, letting sleep overtake her.

“Jess?”

…fuck.

She cracked an eye open. “Yes?”

“Can we do something?” Ashley began to sit up but her arms shook and she fell back down again.

“…like what?” Jessica rubbed her hands over her face that was quickly numbing from the alcohol.

“Um… wanna watch a movie?”

 _No, not really._ “What do you want to watch?” Ashley shrugged, and Jessica sighed, lunging forward for the clicker on the table. Fumbling with the controls ( _those shots were a terrible idea. Now I remember why I take mixed drinks_ ), she finally managed to turn the television on. Flipping to HBO, she put on some banal rom-com before throwing the remote to the floor.

“How’s this?” Ashley hummed her approval and began shifting on the couch.

“Now come cuddle with me.” Jessica sighed once more.

“Ash-”

“Please, Jess?” Jessica closed her eyes and felt the room begin to spin. Slowly standing, and almost immediately toppling forward because _shit_ she forgot about her fucking knee and she was fucking dizzy and just fuck this day, she staggered towards the couch, putting both hands on the arm. Ashley smiled and held her arms out and Jessica, too tired to even think, collapsed against her girlfriend’s chest, sighing. Ashley wrapped her arms around the blonde and kissed her temple.

“Comfy?” Ashley asked, and Jessica only grunted, burying her head against Ashley’s neck. Ashley chuckled, sounding suspiciously lucid, and tightened her grip on Jessica. “Good night, sweetie.” Jessica didn’t reply, already asleep, and Ashley soon followed suit.

The next morning, Jessica slowly woke up on her bed to the sound of the spatula scraping against the frying pan. Sitting up, she groaned as she realised she had one helluva headache and her knee ached like a bitch. “Aspirin’s on the nightstand!” Ashley called from the kitchen. Jessica blindly reached over for the bottle, the glass beside it. Immediately popping two pills, she set the glass down and instantly fell back into her pillow. She closed her eyes and listened to the sizzling as it died out. Footsteps indicated Ashley had come up to the side of the bed.

“Jess, sit up. I made you breakfast.” Jessica opened her eyes slowly and sighed, looking up to see her girlfriend’s smiling, yet guilty, face, holding a tray of pancakes and eggs. Jessica pushed herself up and took the tray, eyeing Ashley cautiously. “I feel bad after, uh, yesterday. I don’t really remember it, but I saw the leftover vodka…”

Ah. In her pain-induced haze, she must have forgotten to put that away. Jessica blushed and ducked her head, taking a bite of her eggs.

“Considering you haven’t touched a shot glass since we were in college, I’m guessing it was bad,” Ashley continued. “So… I’ve decided to give you a day in. You’re hungover, exhausted, and you knee is bruised beyond belief. So I’m going to do all the chores, cook for you, aaand, if you want… we can have sex later tonight?” Jessica took a few more bites of her breakfast and stared at Ashley. Swallowing, she finally replied,

“It’s okay, Ashley. Really.” Ashley raised her eyebrows. “You don’t have to do this just because you feel bad. I mean, you just got your wisdom teeth out, so you must be hurting too…” Ashley stared at her incredulously. “What?”

“I treat you to a day of hell while high on pain meds, and you tell me it’s no big deal?” Jessica shrugged weakly. “Babe, you are the sweetest, most caring person I have ever met.”

“You should have seen me yesterday,” Jessica muttered before taking another bite of her food.

“See, this is what I mean! I’m honestly shocked you still love me after that shit show.” Ashley winced. “I’m so sorry, honey.”

“Hey, it wasn’t your fault.” Jessica placed a hand on Ashley’s forearm and smiled warmly despite the literal pain she was feeling. “Honestly. I admit I was, uh… well, let’s just say finals didn’t even come close to making me that stressed.” Ashley winced again. “But! I will always love you, no doubt about it! So don’t worry-”

“Jess.” Ashley held up a hand to stop her girlfriend’s rambling. “You took care of me. Now let me take care of you.” It was that simple statement that made Jessica pause and look down. “After all, you hurt yourself too. I don’t remember much, but I do remember you swearing a few times. What’d you do to your knee, anyway?”

“I tripped down the stairs and hit the railing.” Ashley winced. “And then I hit it with the freezer door.” Ashley winced again.

“Sheesh. Yeah, you’re gonna relax. I’ll get you more water, then I’ll finish those dishes and buy the rest of the groceries. Because I totally found the list in your purse, and it’s totally…” She cleared her throat. “Not done.”

“…okay,” Jessica replied in a small voice, looking up and smiling at her girlfriend. “I love you.” Ashley bent down to peck Jessica on the lips.

“I love you too. Don’t over-exert yourself today!” With that, she turned and left the room. Jessica smiled more before finishing her food, putting the tray on the nightstand, and sinking into the bed.

As if to make up for what was probably the worst day of her life, the rest of the day was wonderful – Ashley kept to her promises of doing the chores, cooked Jessica a wonderful lunch and dinner, and they had careful but passionate makeup sex. If she hadn’t nearly killed herself in more ways than one the day prior, she’d almost consider going through it all again (mainly for the sex, but she wasn’t about to tell anybody that – who could blame her when Ashley worshipped her body like a temple?).

Almost.

…then again, her bruised kneecap would heinously disagree.


	3. The Start of Something

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gotta meet somehow, right?  
> 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ashley Jones, Jessica Smith; Jessley

“Come on, Jessica,” Ashley grunted, pulling her blonde friend closer to her. Well, ‘friend’ was a bit of an overstatement – they’ve literally only known each other for about a day. And all Ashley really knew of the girl was she was a great singer majoring in Performance, joined an _a capella_ group after being in a self-started club in high school, and apparently had the alcohol tolerance of a two-year-old. Then again, she didn’t really strike Ashley as much of a drinker given her somewhat innocent demeanor, so it wasn’t particularly surprising when two mixed drinks of god-knows-what basically destroyed her.

It also wasn’t particularly surprising when none of the Bellas had the thought to help her essentially carry this stranger to her dorm room. It seemed Aubrey left early, Chloe was way too busy partying, and neither Jessica nor Ashley really knew any of the other girls. So it was up to Ashley to save the day. …or, at least, the girl.

“Where am I?” Jessica mumbled, completely leaning on Ashley for support with her arm draped around the girl’s shoulders.

“My room.” After all, it wasn’t like Jessica was in a proper state of mind to even try telling Ashley where her room was.

“You…” Jessica’s grip on Ashley tightened whilst the brunette opened her door, revealing her messy room. Ashley winced, happy her roommate had already gone home for the weekend. “You didn’t haf… hafta do that…” she slurred, wobbling despite the duo having not moved from the doorway.

“Yes I did,” Ashley insisted. “I wasn’t going to leave you there alone.”

“But it’s my fault!” Jessica blubbered. “I…” She swallowed. “I’m drunk, and it’s all my fault!”

“Just because it’s your fault…” Ashley trailed off, then backtracked. “I mean, just because you were just enjoying yourself doesn’t mean it was your fault.” _There. Wow, way to be a fucking asshole, Ashley. Don’t victim blame._ “And I’m here to make sure you’re safe after enjoying yourself.”

“But now I’m incon… inco… convenyencing you…” She swallowed again.

“Inconveniencing?”

“Yeah! I’m… I’m sorry!” With that, she stumbled and threw herself at Ashley, wrapping her arms around her neck. With a start, Ashley realised the girl was actually crying. _Oh crap, a sad drunk._

“Jessica, I swear, it’s okay. I want you to be safe. You’re not inconveniencing me,” she said firmly, gently directing the sniffling girl to her bed.

“If I just hadn’t drunk, I wouldn’t be inconven- incon… whatever, I wouldn’t be bothering you,” she muttered, sitting down and wiping her eyes. When she went to lie down, she immediately put her hand to her mouth. Ashley’s eyes widened, and she jumped to her trash can, bringing it to Jessica’s side just as Jessica began vomiting. Ashley winced and gently rubbed her back, pulling her hair back.

“Ugh… Oh fuck…” Jessica whined, and Ashley raised her eyebrows at her swearing. “I’m so sorry…”

“Do you at least feel better?” Ashley asked with a small smile.

“I… I think so…” she mumbled, wiping her eyes again, and Ashley admitted she did sound decidedly clearer.

“Let me get you some water.” Jessica nodded before gripping the edge of the small rubbish bin. As Ashley filled a cup with filtered water from her small fridge, she heard Jessica vomiting up more behind her.

“Here.” Ashley handed the cup to Jessica. Upon taking a few sips, Jessica’s eye’s widened, and Ashley hurriedly took it back before Jessica began vomiting even more. Amongst the few sips of water she had taken, what looked like orange juice came up as well. Ashley wrinkled her nose. It seemed someone gave Jessica a particularly strong blend of screwdriver, almost all of which was in the bin in front of them.

“Ugh…” Jessica muttered. Ashley went to her restroom and procured a few sheets of toilet paper for the girl. Jessica took them appreciatively and wiped her mouth and blew her nose before dumping them into the waste basket. “I am so sorry…”

“You need to stop saying that,” Ashley teased. Jessica shook her head.

“This is… so embarrassing…” she mumbled, slowly sitting up. She took in a deep breath before slowly releasing it, all with her eyes closed. Ashley watched her patiently, refilling the empty cup in the meantime.

“I never drink,” Jessica finally admitted. Ashley nodded, though the girl didn’t see her.

“I can tell,” she teased. Jessica sighed.

“I hate alcohol. I can take maybe one drink or a glass of wine, and that’s it.” She finally opened her eyes when Ashley tapped her on the shoulder, offering her another cup of water.

“Really? You kinda fooled me – you drank those pretty quickly.” Jessica shook her head, then groaned when it made her dizzier. Holding her head, she took a long gulp from the cup.

“I was, um… trying to fit in. I don’t know what I had, but they were… gross.” She wrinkled her nose and finished off the water.

“Don’t drink so quickly. You’ll get sick again,” Ashley warned, gently taking the cup back. “Who made you those drinks, anyway?”

“Stacie. I asked her.” Jessica paused and furrowed her eyebrows. “…but I think Fat Amy added in more shots of… vodka, I think? Behind Stacie’s back.” Ashley, immensely impressed Jessica managed to remember all those people (even whilst drunk), stared blankly. She only barely remembered Fat Amy, which was saying something.

“Stacie in the tall one who… really likes her boobs,” Jessica elaborated with a light blush, as if talking about the sexually-charged freshman was scandalous. “And Fat Amy is the, um… large and loud one.”

“Ohhh,” Ashley replied, bobbing her head as the familiar faces revealed themselves to her mind’s eye. “I’m pretty bad with names.”

“I’m Jessica.” Ashley chuckled with the girl instantly held out her trembling hand.

“Well, I know _that_ ,” Ashley teased again, shaking her hand to humour the other girl. Jessica frowned. “You told me yesterday.”

“Yet you don’t remember Stacie?” Jessica tilted her head. Stacie Conrad, in her opinion, was far more memorable than silly, absent-minded Jessica Smith. Ashley coughed and avoided her gaze, and drunk Jessica didn’t register any of it as strange.

“So how do you feel now?” Ashley asked abruptly. Jessica groaned.

“Better, but I’m still not sober.”

“You got most of it out of your system I think.”

“Not in the funnest way,” Jessica muttered. Unexpectedly, she pushed herself off the bed to stand up.

“Whoa! What are you doing?” Ashley asked, standing with her and gripping her shoulders to keep Jessica from toppling.

“Going home. I was serious about inconveniencing you.” Ashley frowned, and Jessica shakily attempted to walk around her.

“You can’t be serious.”

“…I just said I was?” Jessica took another step but tripped over a pair of Ashley’s discarded shoes and clung to brunette tightly as Ashley quickly caught her. Using Jessica’s limp state to her advantage, Ashley threw her back on the bed. Jessica squeaked.

“Uh, no. You clearly can’t walk.”

“But-”

“It’s Friday. I have no classes tomorrow, and school has barely started so I don’t have homework. Just stay,” Ashley pleaded. “If you walked home and something happened, I’d never forgive myself.”

“…really?” Jessica looked at Ashley with glistening eyes, and Ashley cringed, desperately praying the girl wouldn’t begin crying again.

“Yes. Really. Just sleep over.”

“But where will I sleep?”

“My bed.” Jessica winced.

“And you?”

“I’ll take the floor.” With that, Jessica stood up more determinedly. “Hey! Stop that!”

“I am not taking your bed!” she insisted, wobbling after a scant few seconds of stability. “Oh damn it. No, no, I’m sober…” she muttered to herself. Ashley scoffed and gently pushed Jessica down.

“No, you are definitely not. Now accept your fate and sleep over.” Jessica pouted, and Ashley rolled her eyes, unconsciously scratching Jessica’s scalp. “Hey, the faster you go to sleep, the faster _I_ can go to sleep.”

“Oh, ha ha,” Jessica muttered. Ashley chuckled.

“Let me get you some clothes to change into. We’re probably around the same size…” With that, she turned to her drawers and began rummaging around. A few moments later, she threw Jessica an oversized band t-shirt and some yoga pants, then pulled her out her own sleeping nightshirt. “I’m going to go to the bathroom and change.” Jessica nodded mutely and slowly began removing her dark blue coat.

When Ashley returned, she found Jessica out of her dress and in the clothes Ashley loaned her. Ashley, unknowingly, smiled fondly at the sight of Jessica wearing her clothes. When she closed the door behind her, Jessica looked up and smiled back. The two stared for a few heartbeats until Ashley blinked, coming to some realisation, and shook her head. Clearing her throat awkwardly, she walked up to Jessica.

“How do you feel now?”

“A lot better,” Jessica confessed, smiling shyly.

“Good. Tired?” She nodded slowly.

“I’m a little more awake after… you know…” She gestured blindly to the trash can. Ashley chuckled.

“Well, I think I’m ready to go to bed, so…” Jessica nodded hurriedly, then cringed and groaned. “You need to stop doing that…”

“I knooow,” Jessica whined. Sighing, she fell back into Ashley’s bed. Pausing, she furrowed her brows. “…are you really sleeping on the floor?”

“It’s fine, Jessica,” Ashley emphasised.

“Ashley-”

“Jessica- wait, how do you know my name?” Jessica sat up again and stared at her curiously.

“You told me. Yesterday. Besides, you know my name, so…” Jessica trailed off and casually shrugged. Ashley blinked.

“…right.” _Why am I being so weird?_ The two lapsed into an awkward silence before Ashley cleared her thought again.

“So… yeah. Sleep?”

“Sleep,” Jessica replied with a small smile. Ashley took one of her pillows and one of her blankets and put both on the floor at a comfortable distance from Jessica. The blonde bit her lip. She figured the two weren’t quite close enough for her to offer to share the bed, and it was far too small for them to even sleep together comfortably. They’d probably have to cuddle to fit well, and that wasn’t happening.

Yet.

…

 _Wait, what?_   Jessica almost shook her head but, at the last minute, remembered the dizziness and pain it caused. She instead settled for lying on Ashley’s bed and running her hands down her face. Attributing her peculiar thought to drunkenness, she sighed and turned on her side away from Ashley. After hearing the other girl bunker down, she swallowed, suddenly nervous.

“Good night,” she whispered, unsure if Ashley even heard her. To her relief(?), Ashley replied,

“Good night.” Closing her eyes, Jessica tried her best to fall asleep amidst the sensation of the room spinning around her. It felt like hours until she finally and actually relaxed into a state of unconsciousness with no puking disturbances through the night.

 _Thump_ , _thump_ , _thump_.

Wait, what? She groaned. The noise stopped for a split second before quickly picking back up again, though in what she believed was a separate location. As her brain whirred and returned her to a state of living, she realised someone was… hammering something down the hall.

What? College was bizarre.

The pounding sound resonated in her mind, and she dully realised _no_ that was just her aching headache. Well, maybe not aching headache – it didn’t hurt as much as it could have, considering she expelled most of the alcohol the night prior. She tried pushing herself up only to feel the room spin as it had before she fell asleep. In retaliation, she instead sunk back into the mattress and pulled the covers up over her head to block out the real world.

 _Citrus… oranges, maybe?_   she mused to herself as the scent of the blankets overwhelmed her. Strange. Her sheets were more of that general fresh, ‘crisp’ scent. Her sheets were also light blue, not dark. Her bed was also positioned so it was under the window, not-

 _Oh my god, this isn’t my room!_ Jessica shot up from the bed, groaning loudly as she did so. Looking around, she saw indie band posters haphazardly plastered on the walls, a laptop atop the university-provided desk, and a general _mess_ on the floor. Shoes were tossed around, clothes scattered in piles, papers under the table – definitely _not_ Jessica’s room.

 _Oh my god. Oh my_ god _. Did I actually…?_ Breathing quickly, she pushed herself to remember something, _anything_ about last night. She didn’t recall leaving with anyone nor did she recall talking to any boys. _Okay, calm down, it’s okay…_ she repeated to herself like a mantra as she felt her heartrate rising. Holding her head in her hands, she stared at her feet, willing herself to remain calm as she rocked back and forth. Calm. Focused. If she panicked, the situation would grow worse. And if she needed a pill…

She felt bile rise in the back of her throat as memories flashed through her mind.

Shaking, she swung her feet down. Her foot touched some article of clothing, and she looked down to see a bra that was definitely not the one she was wearing last night. She froze. She didn’t recall talking to any girls… except the Bellas.

 _Oh. My._ God.

She swallowed, tears pricking at the corner of her eyes. Best case scenario, the other girl was drunk as well, and they could pretend nothing happened. Worst case scenario…

More memories reared their ugly heads, and she whined softly.

Beyond terrified, she hastily began looking for the clothes she wore last night. Seeing them in a pile at the end of the bed, she jumped up and rushed towards them only to accidentally kick a fairly large something under a blanket. Squeaking, she backed up and looked down at the misshapen lump which groaned but did not move. Jessica held her breath before furrowing her eyebrows.

 _Wait…_ Leaning down, she gently pulled back the blanket to reveal the peacefully sleeping face of Ashley cuddling her pillow. Jessica pulled back, her mouth making an _o_ shape.

Right. The party. The stupid drinks. Puking up her guts. _Not_ sleeping with one of her new to-be friends or, apparently worse, a Treblemaker. She side-eyed the rubbish bin beside her bed and winced. Yup, all there. All happened. Sighing, she held her head in her hands. Relief was quickly washed away by guilt.

 _Nice one_ , she grumbled to herself. _First week of school, and, not only do you make no friends, you get drunk off your…_ ass _and throw up in a stranger’s waste basket and steal her bed!_ Jessica groaned and buried her fingers in her hair. _Practice is going to be awful…_ Sighing to herself, she stayed in the position to wait for Ashley to wake up.

As ten minutes ticked by, she realised the girl was definitely not waking up any time soon. Biting her lip, Jessica cautiously took her dress and walked into the restroom, changing as quietly as she could. Taking the spare clothes, she began folding them neatly before hesitating. Deciding to wash them before returning them, she bundled them under her arm and located her purse and coat. Setting all her things aside, she instinctively began some small housekeeping activities, wondering if Ashley would wake up.

A good twenty minutes later, the brunette still had not stirred. Satisfied with the state of the room, Jessica inventoried herself and prepared to leave before biting her lip again and pausing. Seeing an unused piece of paper under the cluttered desk, she cautiously picked it up and plucked a pencil off the ground. Quickly, she scrawled out a note and slipped out the door.

When Ashley woke up hours later, she blinked blearily and looked around. _Why the hell am I on the floor- Oh. Right._ Ashley yawned and stretched, sitting up and turning to her bed. The only trace of Jessica’s presence was… actually, there was none. The bed was made more nicely than Ashley would ever have bothered. The bin was completely clean, empty of all traces of vomit and whatever else Ashley had shoved inside prior. Ashley blinked and looked around her room, gasping when she realised Jessica _had_ left signs of her stay over.

All of Ashley’s clothes, which she never bothered to put into her hamper, were, indeed, in said hamper, ready to be washed. The clean clothes she had left on her bed, shoved into a pile when she let Jessica take it over, were neatly folded sans her bras and underwear. They appeared untouched out of sheer consideration. The papers strew all over the room were stacked into a few piles on top of her laptop. Atop the piles was a piece of paper folded in half, sitting like a tent. Ashley stood, stumbling, and snatched up the note. Neat cursive filled the page.

_Dear Ashley,_

_Thank you so much for letting me sleep in your bed! I am still so, so sorry for being, well, wasted, and I promise I will make it up to you as best you could. I really hope you don’t see this as an invasion of privacy, but, well, I tidied up your room a little! I tried to keep it ordered so you wouldn’t lose anything, and I didn’t touch any of your private clothes, I promise. As for the clothes you lent me, I’ll wash them and return them to you at practice!_

_I also completely understand if you never want to speak to me ever again. Thank you so, so much, and I hope you have an outstanding day._

_-Jessica_

Ashley blinked a few times, then surveyed her room. All right, it was a liiittle creepy that a total stranger cleaned up her room for her, but damn if that stranger didn’t do a good job. Even Ashley’s pencils were stacked perfectly on the desk side-by-side. Ashley hummed to herself, putting the note back, and picked up her hamper. Grabbing her keys, she strode out to do her laundry.

Of course, despite it being a weekend, dictator Aubrey Posen dictated a seven-day-a-week practice schedule, so Ashley dragged herself to rehearsals in the afternoon. There, everyone was already waiting, including Jessica. Upon the sparse greetings she received – basically from Chloe and Denise – she smiled. She tried to catch Jessica’s eye, but the blonde refused to meet her gaze, instead intently focused on the Bellas’ leaders. Ashley frowned.

“Okay everyone,” Aubrey began, clapping her hands. “I hope you all had fun at aca-initiation last night.” Ashley watched Jessica visibly cringe but say nothing. “As you may have noticed, one of our members is not here…” Ashley proceeded to observe to the mess that was Aubrey kicking out one of the newer members – god help her remember her name – immediately upon finding out the girl slept with a Treble last night, stunned. She then proceeded to be forced through further suffering in the specific form of repeated scales and intensive cardio under the watchful eye of a strict captain.

This was going to be her life, wasn’t it?

Other than the obvious tension and general awkwardness of the group, practice ran smoothly. Ashley only screwed up a million and one times, much to Aubrey’s immense pleasure. Jessica, with her previous _a capella_ knowledge, managed to stay on top of the singing and dancing ( _she makes it look so easy…_ ) despite her usual enthusiasm seeming to be a little dampened. Ashley frowned again, then shook her head when she realised Aubrey was barking out more orders.

Once practice finally ended, Jessica bolted, though no one else seemed to take notice. Ashley frowned again, wondering how she could talk to the other girl when she arrived at the folding chairs. Sitting innocuously on top of a pile of clean clothes on the chair Ashley had been using was a plate of chocolate chip cookies. Another note was teepeed atop them.

_Dear Ashley,_

_I really hope you can forgive me._

_-Jessica_

“Whoa, cookies!” Fat Amy shouted, rushing towards Ashley and pushing her back.

“Hey, those are mine!” she snapped, snatching up the plate and miraculously not dropping any of them.

“Cookies?” Aubrey inquired with a raised eyebrow.

“Oh, lay off, Bree,” Chloe replied breezily, touching the blonde’s arm. “We’re all allowed sweet treats every now and again.” Aubrey stared Ashley down before sighing and nodding.

“Those do look good…” she ventured with a small smile. Ashley smiled back.

“I didn’t make them. Jessica did.”

“Ooh, Jessica bakes?” Stacie butted in, smiling widely. “I need to hit a girl up…”

“I’m sure that’s not the first time you’ve said that…” Fat Amy muttered loudly.

“She’s not my type,” Stacie replied, waving off the comment. _Good_ , Ashley found herself thinking.

“And what _is_ your type?” Cynthia-Rose asked, suddenly curious. Stacie only shrugged innocently. Ashley rolled her eyes and cleared her throat.

“Did, uh… you guys want one?” she asked carefully, eyeing everyone.

“No thank you,” Denise said with a smile before walking off.

“Why, I thought you’d never ask,” Fat Amy said, feigning shock with her hands over her heart. Without a second thought, she grabbed the top one and immediately shoved it in her mouth. Ashley rolled her eyes and glanced at the rest of the girls. Beca and Lilly both left, it seemed, Aubrey and Chloe shook their heads, Stacie smiled and took her own cookie with a thank you, and Cynthia-Rose nodded appreciatively and took her own.

“Daaamn, these are good,” she praised through bites. Stacie nodded in agreement before taking her leave. Ashley smiled back at them, gathered her belongings, and began walking off as well with her own cookie in her mouth.

 _Holy shit, she’s right._ The outer edge held just enough crunch for some texture whilst the inside was gooey and chocolatey and just plain delicious. She had to give it to her – the bubbly blonde knew how to bake.

 _Hmm…_ Ashley pondered how to show her happiness when Jessica clearly was too embarrassed to speak to her. Glancing down at the note, she smiled.

The next day, the Bellas met up as expected, but, instead of Jessica (who was _still_ avoiding all contact with Ashley) running off first, it was Ashley. Jessica watched her go with a sigh, wringing her hands. Having never… ‘slept’ (ha) with someone and taken the ‘morning after’ (ha ha) walk, she really had no idea on what to do. Were the notes enough? Too little? Was food pushing it? Though she figured that was probably silly to think – she saw Ashley take her fair share of snacks at the party and had a hunch the girl had a sweet tooth when she needed one. Cookies were just a safe bet.

Shaking her head, she made her way back to her seat. There, to her surprise, was a note folded in half addressed to her in rather bubbly letters. She glanced around, but no one seemed to take notice, and opened the note.

_Hey Jessica,_

_I just wanted to thank you for totally fixing up my room and leaving me cookies and stuff. Seriously, you’re the best. I’ve never had anyone do something like that._

_Look, I get you’re probably totally embarrassed, and it’s totally okay! Like, don’t worry, stuff like that happens to the best of us. If you want to meet tomorrow, I left my number, and I can tell you about my most embarrassing drunk experience over, say, coffee? My treat – I want to get you something for baking me what are literally the most delicious cookies I’ve ever had in my life!_

_Text me if you want?_

_Sincerely,_

_Ashley_

Jessica’s eyes widened, and she pulled the note close to her chest almost conspiratorially. Looking around, she saw everyone still focused on whatever and quickly folded the note into her purse and walked out without a sound. Once she was far enough away from the building, she pulled both her phone and the note out and quickly inputted Ashley’s contact information into her phone. She began texting.

‘Hey, this is Jessica! I’d love to go get coffee! Can you do lunch?’ She headed back to her dorm and, halfway there, her phone pinged.

‘Hey Jessica! Yeah I can do that. Wanna meet at noon that real small cafe by the science buildings? You know what I’m talking about right’ Jessica smiled.

‘Yes, I do, and yes, I can do that! I’ll see you then?’

‘Ya I’ll see you tomorrow :)” Jessica smiled again and clutched her phone before gently putting it back in her purse and walking back to her room.


	4. TEXT Talk

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Phones are dangerous machines.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Beca Mitchell, Chloe Beale; Bechloe  
> Fat Amy  
> Stacie Conrad, Aubrey Posen; Staubrey  
> Cynthia-Rose Adams  
> Lilly Onakurama  
> Florencia 'Flo' Fuentes  
> Emily Junk  
> Jessica Smith, Ashley Jones; Jessley  
> Denise

Aubrey: So Chloe, what do you think of the new girls?

Chloe: I think they’re acaawesome and were gonna kill it this year!!

Aubrey: …you think everyone’s aca-awesome…?

Chloe: Yes Bree even Beca

Aubrey: Ugh

Chloe: Aubrey

Aubrey: What.

Chloe: Give her a chance!

Aubrey: Mmno

Chloe: Give her a chance!!

Aubrey: That’s just your toner talking

Chloe: Actually that’s my dick

Aubrey: …

* * *

 

Chloe: Ok everyone hi! This is a group chat so you guys know when our practice is and stuff!

Aubrey: I expect you all to use this RESPONSIBLY

Stacie: What’s that supposed to mean?

Aubrey: It means Bellas-related stuff ONLY

Stacie: Oh come on, that’s no fun

Aubrey: We’re not here to just “have fun”. We have to be serious if we’re going to win

Stacie: I so did not sign up for this, Miss Serious

Aubrey: Well maybe you should have thought about that!

Cynthia-Rose: Um how could we

Denise: Yeah we were never really given an indication of that…

Aubrey: Zip it everyone

Chloe: Aubrey please, we CAN have fun! It’s singing!

Aubrey: Ugh

Jessica: So is this mainly going to be for, like, talking about meeting times and stuff? Like agendas?

Chloe: Oh! I hadn’t considered that! Great idea Jessica!

Jessica: Thank you! That’s just what I did when I was in high school!

Denise: Wait you did this in high school?

Jessica: I started my high school’s a capella group!

Chloe: …

Chloe: How come I didn’t know this

Jessica: Um… no one asked?

Aubrey: …you and I need to talk tomorrow after practice

Jessica: Um… yes ma’am.

Fat Amy: WHAT UP PITCHES

Fat Amy: no seriously what the hells going on ur blowing up my damn phone

Chloe: I just thought it’d be a good idea to have a group chat so you all know when we have or don’t have practice and Jessica added the acaawesome idea to use the chat as an agenda

Ashley: I’m still not sure I follow you on that

Jessica: Oh, well, I used my high school chat to tell everyone what to expect for practice and then summarize what we did after! So yesterday, we went over what arpeggios are, but mainly focused on choreography for first quarter of our set.

Ashley: …we did?

Aubrey: Is Jessica the only competent member of this group?

Chloe: Acarude!

Aubrey: Sorry

Aubrey: Are Chloe and Jessica the only competent members of this group?

Ashley: That’s still rude…

Aubrey: I don’t see anyone else being useful

Stacie: Not our fault you’re a dictator

Aubrey: Aca-cuse me?

Stacie: Aca-believe it

Cynthia-Rose: Girl fight!

Chloe: GUYS no fighting over text

Aubrey: Fine. Stacie, talk to me after practice

Stacie: Fine

Aubrey: Fine

Fat Amy: im puttin my money on legs

Stacie: Legs?

Cynthia-Rose: Um girl have you checked a mirror

Aubrey: Far too often I’m sure

Stacie: Shut up Aubrey, you know I’m hot

Cynthia-Rose: Damn straight

Fat Amy: yea i dont think that saying works with you

Chloe: Well speaking of practice! Tomorrow at 2:30 sharp! Be there or be squaaare

Chloe: Beca will you be there tomorrow

Beca: Sure

Chloe: Great! I’m so excited everyone! Xoxo

Jessica: Yeah!

Aubrey: Great! Thanks Chlo

Chloe: Xoxoxo

Lilly: I can make Molotov cocktails behind my back with my eyes closed.

* * *

Chloe: That was pretty good today guys but we have a few critiques…

Fat Amy: brace for impact evryone

Aubrey: Fat Amy, you’re not keeping up with the choreography

Aubrey: Ashley, you’re a beat behind

Aubrey: Lilly… never mind

Aubrey: Denise, you’re off-pitch

Aubrey: Cynthia-Rose, stop staring at Stacie

Aubrey: Stacie, stop staring at me

Aubrey: Beca, be… useful

Fat Amy: yea no cardio

Ashley: Uhhh ok I’ll work on that…

Lilly: I have squirrel tacked to my wall.

Denise: Sorry this acapella thing is new to me

Cynthia-Rose: Can you really blame me

Stacie: Can you really blame ME?

Beca: Gee thanks

Jessica: …what about me?

Aubrey: Like I said, two competent members of this group

Jessica: …um, thanks.

Stacie: Wow, great leadership, Aubrey

Aubrey: Shut up and dance properly

Stacie: Shut up and lead properly

Aubrey: That is fucking IT

Chloe: Guys! Please!

Cynthia-Rose: Girl fight!

Chloe: Not helping!

Beca: I like her

Chloe: BECA

Aubrey: Go home midget

Chloe: AUBREY!

Jessica: Guys! Please stop fighting!

Ashley: Yeah if you’re gonna fight do it in private messages

Jessica: Not sure that’s helping, but good idea Ashley!

Chloe: Ugh we’ll talk about this next practice

Chloe: If I see any more fights, I will…

Fat Amy: Scream

Chloe: Probably cry

Aubrey: …

Chloe: …

Aubrey: God help me

* * *

Cynthia-Rose: Hey yall I’m going clubbing tonight who wants to come??

Chloe: ABSOLUTELY

Aubrey: ABSOLUTELY NOT

Cynthia-Rose: Aww Aubrey don’t be such a spoil sport

Aubrey: Chloe

Chloe: …there’ll be glowsticks…

Aubrey: Oh for Pete’s sake

Stacie: Count me in, CR!

Aubrey: NO

Stacie: Aubrey, let me live

Aubrey: You’re not going to a club

Aubrey: You guys aren’t even 21!

Chloe: I am!

Cynthia-Rose: Pfft 18+ club bitches!

Stacie: Hell yeah!

Aubrey: Ugh

Denise: Don’t worry they’ll just be hungover at practice

Stacie: Worth it

Cynthia-Rose: Aww yeah

Aubrey: We could always add some extra cardio

Chloe: Bree!

Aubrey: I am not letting you all be… delinquents!

Stacie: I’ll be whatever I so please

Fat Amy: so a slut

Stacie: Fuck you, I’m an ethical slut

Aubrey: But still a slut

Stacie: You know Aubrey, fuck you, I’m going tonight. CR, let’s go

Cynthia Rose: Aight I’ll meet you at your dorm at 7

Aubrey: Fine! Ruin your life! See if I care!

Ashley: We talked about this! Private chats!

Aubrey: FINE

Stacie: FINE

Cynthia-Rose: You know I think if you two bang you’ll be a lot less stressed out

Aubrey: ACA-CUSE ME?

Stacie: Oh please, like you wouldn’t wanna bang all this

Aubrey: That’s it. Next person to talk about something unrelated to the Bellas immediately gets EJECTED

Chloe: Sigh

* * *

Chloe: Are you added Emily?

Emily: Yes! Thank you so much!!! Hi everyone!!!

Chloe: Ok, let’s welcome Emily to the group chat!

Beca: Welcome to hell

Chloe: Beca

Beca: What.

Cynthia-Rose: Gotta warn ya legacy this chat gets real wild

Ashley: It’s toned down since Aubrey and Stacie stopped hate-flirting

Aubrey: …I’m still here you know

Stacie: Now we just love-flirt ;)

Aubrey: Not now, Stace

Fat Amy: and now we have our captains bhloing up the chat

Jessica: They’re what?

Fat Amy: blowing*

Emily: …I feel like there’s a joke here I’m missing

* * *

Chloe: Um where’s Lilly

Beca: I heard the literature building had a small fire on the third floor

Chloe: …got it thnx

* * *

Emily: Guys I have an aca-serious question!!!

Beca: What’s wrong legacy

Emily: Why are ppl so obsessed with top or bottom??

Emily: Like I’d honestly just be excited to have a bunk bed

Stacie: Emily, no

* * *

Fat Amy: guys I rlly just wanna be honest with u all I love u all with my butt

Emily: Aww Amy that’s so sweet!

Chloe: I love you too Amy! <3

Beca: …butt?

Fat Amy: yea I would say that I love u with all my heart but my butt is bigger

* * *

Stacie: Babe, I miss you <3

Aubrey: I miss you too, dear

Stacie: When are you coming back to Barden?

Aubrey: Pardon?

Stacie: Just to visit, not for school

Aubrey: Oh

Aubrey: Um, I hadn’t planned anything. Why don’t you come back to the lodge?

Stacie: Hahaha!

Aubrey: …

Stacie: …oh shit, you’re serious

Stacie: Look, baby, after last time, I’m ready to never step foot outside again

Aubrey: It wasn’t that bad… You guys found your sound, after all

Stacie: Beca got caught in a bear trap!

Aubrey: That was her fault! I warned y’all!

Stacie: And then you said you didn’t even have a LADDER!

Aubrey: I told you! It’s counter-productive to my team-building exercises by insinuating a hierarchical structure!

Stacie: THAT’S NOT HOW THAT WORKS!

* * *

Jessica: What do you guys want for dinner tonight?

Ashley: You’re cooking again?

Jessica: Yep!

Ashley: But you cooked last night…

Jessica: So? I like cooking.

Chloe: No no Ashley has a point. You shouldn’t be cooking every night. That’s just wrong!

Beca: So are YOU cooking Chlo

Chloe: Uh…

Emily: I can cook!

Stacie: Uh

Stacie: Legacy, do you remember that time you set the kitchen on fire because you didn’t know how to put out an oil fire properly?

Emily: …

Emily: Ok maybe someone else

Beca: Stacie?

Stacie: Uhh

Stacie: I’m a science geek, not a very good cook. Aubrey does the cooking between us, and there’s no way I’m asking her to come down right now to cook for us

Emily: So what do you do when Aubrey’s not around?

Stacie: Live off ramen like a true college student

Beca: …Chloe?

Chloe: …

Chloe: Like Stacie said Aubrey did the cooking between us

Chloe: I’m a hit or miss tbh. It’s either the best lasagna you’ve ever had or a broken microwave

Cynthia-Rose: How did you break a microwave

Chloe: …

Chloe: Did you know you should never put metal in a microwave

Stacie: …

Beca: CR??

Cynthia-Rose: Short answer: no long answer: mmmno

Beca: Uhhhhh Flo?

Flo: When I was in my homeland we started fires with our bare hands and a coveted pair of thick glasses to carefully angle the sunlight on a pile of wood logs

Beca: So I’m hearing a no

Flo: No

Beca: Fat Amy?

Fat Amy: yea no I dont cook I get catered to

Beca: ...Aaashley?

Ashley: Uh…

Ashley: I’m an expert at making frozen meals

Ashley: For one

Beca: …Lilly…???

Chloe: NO

Beca: Right sorry

Chloe: What about you Becs?

Beca: Right

Beca: Uh

Beca: How do you guys like cereal?

Stacie: Are we cerealously saying no one but Jessica can cook?

Beca: Never make a fucking pun again

Stacie: Wow Beca, no need to cry over spilt milk

Beca: I swear to fucking God

Chloe: Focus guys. Food

Jessica: …so I’m making dinner tonight?

Chloe: …do you prefer manicures or pedicures?

Jessica: Huh?

Beca: Did you know the Arctic Monkeys are coming into town? I can get you two tickets

Jessica: Oh! Wow, I’d love to see them!

Stacie: Hey so the new planetarium just opened. I don’t know if that’s your thing, but I heard it has great reviews, and it’s pretty inexpensive

Jessica: Oh geez, I haven’t been to a science museum since I was in elementary school…

Emily: Omg Jessica we should totally go shopping! I’ll totally buy you some new clothes you totally deserve it!

Jessica: Oh, Emily! You don’t need to do that!

Ashley: Are we going to talk about the fact that you guys are basically courting Jessica right in front of me

Chloe: We’re not courting we’re

Chloe: Showing our appreciation

Beca: Yeah!

Beca: Using totally materialistic objects to hide our self-destructive insecurities

Fat Amy: calm down there edgar allen poe

Fat Amy: jessica ur already blessed by my presence so my work here is done

Jessica: …thank you, Fat Amy.

Ashley: Why don’t you guys be more practical

Ashley: Like buy the groceries for her

Chloe: …

Beca: …

Stacie: …

Emily: …

Chloe: ...ok so how would you guys feel if I said I was broke?

Beca: You just offered Jessica a manicure!

Chloe: Or a pedicure

Chloe: I can do those myself tyvm

Beca: What you have a cosmetology degree now

Chloe: As a matter of fact

Chloe: I don’t

Stacie: Helpful, guys

Stacie: I’m broke. I’m waiting on Aubrey to get me a shift at her lodge to make some cash

Flo: What you can’t just get on a pole?

Stacie: …

Jessica: Beca?

Beca: I’m an unpaid intern at a recording studio

Beca: What more do you want from me?

Ashley: And you were planning on getting Arctic Monkey tickets how

Beca: Lots of begging, groveling, and possibly public humiliation at my job

Ashley: …

Jessica: …Fat Amy?

Fat Amy: yea all I got is myself

Fat Amy: which rlly should b all u bitches need

Beca: Yeah that’s nice doesn’t pay for the groceries

Fat Amy: ur not helping either edgar

Ashley: …I’ll help you Jess

Jessica: Much appreciated, Ash.

Stacie: Great to know we solved absolutely nothing

Beca: So just the usual with us right?

Chloe: We could ask Lilly to steal some food for us

Beca: No

Stacie: Yes

Jessica: No.

Ashley: Yes

Flo: In my home country stealing is all we knew

Emily: No!

Fat Amy: lets do it

Beca: Ugh

Jessica: Guys…

Emily: Om aca-g

Chloe: Alright! I’ll go prep Lilly then!

Beca: “Prep”?

Chloe: Jess we’ll see you tonight with everything so you can cook whatever you want!

Jessica: …everything?

Ashley: Don’t even question it

Beca: I am so not excited to go back to prison…


	5. Sex Jar

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everyone gets caught at least once in their life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Beca Mitchell, Chloe Beale; Bechloe  
> Fat Amy; Fat Amy/Bumper  
> Stacie Conrad, Aubrey Posen; Staubrey  
> Cynthia-Rose Adams  
> Lilly Onakurama  
> Florencia 'Flo' Fuentes  
> Jessica Smith, Ashley Jones; Jessley  
> 

Honestly, Jessica and Ashley really lucked out. In a group of ten girls, no one really expected there to be so many couples, let alone so many same-sex couples. It was a slim chance to find one’s soulmate, let alone in college, yet they had done it. But living under the same roof, no one really expected there to be so much… unwanted noise.

Unfortunately, the Barden Bellas seemed to have just the best of luck.

Despite everyone’s assumptions, other than Jessica and Ashley, Stacie and Aubrey were first. Those who were in the know assumed it was because Aubrey was leaving and the girls had, so to speak, one night to “make magic with their mouths”, though the true initiation of such relations was kept disclosed by both ladies. It was only after, having returned from a relaxing summer, did the Bellas finally notice Stacie’s peculiar behaviour, no doubt being helped by the fact they were forced to share quarters.

Multiple times, the Bellas (mainly Beca, as she was seen the most frequently with the sex-addicted student) were approached by random suitors of all genders, asking if Stacie Conrad was available. The Bellas, not knowing of Aubrey Posen working her charms on Stacie in the background, answered yes, Stacie was single. Yet despite the seemingly never-ending stream of potential dates for Stacie (seriously, Beca lost count as twenty-three, and that was over the course of two months), Stacie never seemed to actually follow through with any of them. Sure, she was still her typical flirty self, but absolutely nothing came out of it. A few members, such as Jessica and Chloe, picked up on her abrupt halt to appeasing ‘the Hunter’, but couldn’t make heads or tails of the evidence.

It was only when Aubrey unexpectedly paid a visit to the Bella household did a light bulb go off in Jessica’s head. Chloe, too wrapped up in her college best friend, made no such connection, and no one else really picked up on anything. Jessica prided herself in her isolated discovery.

For, when Aubrey first appeared at their door claiming she was just “dropping in” for a few days, Jessica noticed the looks Stacie was giving Aubrey. They were more poisonous than even Beca’s freshman glares, and she surmised only someone with a particularly close relationship with the controlling blonde could get away with such a fiery rebellion of sorts. Aubrey, in turn, flashed Stacie some of the brightest smiles Jessica had ever seen, rivalling some of her own. She simply couldn’t muster up an explanation for Stacie’s apparent anger. The visit was completely unexpected, but Jessica could think of nothing to suggest Stacie harboured ill will towards the former captain.

In the end, it was them sleeping together that more than unnecessarily tipped Jessica off.

Being a fairly light sleeper, she would awaken any time the noise level of the house reached a point where she could clearly hear something through her room walls (which at times incurred for her a deep loathing for… almost everyone, actually), and the Bellas’ nighttime escapades were no exception. The second night Aubrey was there, Jessica could distinctly hear her and Stacie talking outside their door, evidently on the way to Stacie’s room. Chloe said she would be at school until well into the early morning, much to her displeasure, so Stacie was sleeping alone.

Well, ‘alone’. From what Jessica could pick of her and Aubrey’s hushed conversation, Stacie was trying to take full advantage of the situation and get the blonde in her bed, both literally and figuratively. Once Aubrey finally complied after a pleading, “Come on, Bree. I know it’s… unconventional, but you didn’t exactly give me time to prepare for a proper date or something. Please?”, Jessica mumbled a, “Huh” before drifting off to sleep when the girls went into Stacie’s room. When she awoke the next day, Aubrey had returned to her hotel in the morning and visited again after she was free. Jessica mentioned nothing of the late-night discussion, and no one clued into anything until Aubrey took her leave, ending the unexpected reunion. Stacie, apparently pent up (no surprise there) despite (because of?) the night she spent with her, pecked the girl on the lips, if only because the blonde pushed her back before it could turn into a full-blown make-out session. The other Bellas watched with jaws dropped, and Jessica simply smiled to herself. _Nailed it._

So that was a thing, but Aubrey was fairly busy wherever (seriously, no one understood her job), so the house was actually quieter, considering Stacie wasn’t bringing anyone home. Of course, whenever Aubrey _did_ visit, all the Bellas immediately evacuated the house. Only Chloe, with the bravery of a god, dared to enter after a few hours, hoping the two were finished. It was a guessing game, and she was only correct, unfortunately, about half the time.

A little after, however, she joined in on the game with the one and only Beca Mitchell, surprising absolutely no one. After intruding on the brunette’s shower, constantly being affectionate and touchy with the alternative girl, showering her with praise, and fighting with her like a married couple, it was only a matter of time for Beca to turn around and finally realise she had definitely been experiencing a rather uncomfortable toner for the redhead. And then the two fell quickly, both in love and in bed.

Even better, Chloe was most definitely louder than even Aubrey.

With no one to play the guessing game, the girls began getting used to the nightly – or even morning or midday, it was a bit of random yet frequent occurrence – ‘action’ any way they could; earplugs, loud music, sleeping like a rock (Jessica envied Ashley), going to someone else’s house (Fat Amy became quite familiar with the Treble house), anything they could. It was difficult, and Stacie was certainly jealous of the couple that was privileged to seeing each other every day and be in perpetual contact with each other. Then again, phone sex was a kink she had been hoping to try, and Aubrey certainly did not disappoint.

Oh, and then there was Fat Amy.

She and Bumper were a topic no one wanted to breach. She could deny all she wanted, but everyone knew they hooked up more often than not. Thankfully, the blonde typically went to his house, and, after Bumper was caught walking around in just a pair of boxers (which did absolutely nothing to hide his erection), the girls immediately evicted him (after almost beating him with a toaster) and demanded Fat Amy _never let that happen again_. Since then, they’ve only heard of random sexcapades from Fat Amy that were quickly tuned out.

So Ashley and Jessica, the two who had been officially dating the longest, flew under the radar. Seriously, they began dating a month after meeting. _A month._ That was over a full year under their belt whilst Stacie and Aubrey had maybe a few months (though, granted, they had totally been ridiculously into each other since they first started hate-flirting, and no one knew when they really ‘got together’) and Beca and Chloe only had about a week under that (though, granted again, they had totally been ‘a thing’ since they sang Titanium together). And, unlike Jessica having to play detective to realise Stacie and Aubrey were committed and the house having to put up with a over full year of Beca and Chloe’s sexual tension (mainly Chloe’s), Jessica and Ashley were completely blatant about their relationship. They clicked instantly, hung out constantly during their first month of meeting, texted nonstop, always crossed the fuzzy line between ‘best friends’ and ‘lovers’, went through their own pre-dating drama, and finally had their first kiss after having dinner at a fancy restaurant lit with _candles_. After that, cuddles became more intimate, touches were lingering, and looks turned to love-struck gazes. How could they get more obvious?

And yet literally no one knew they were together – it was sadly impressive. Everyone assumed they were close friends – which they were, of course – and even made jokes about the two being single or offering to set them up with someone. And despite the girl’s denials and clear references that no, they would be spending time with _each other_ instead, no one caught on.

Actually, Stacie had, but she kept it to herself, too busy pining for her ‘I-have-a-real-world-job’ girlfriend. And that suited Jessica just fine.

The rest of the group was just used to the girls being paired whilst the ‘more popular’ Bellas went off and did their own things. Of course, that simply gave more time alone to Jessica and Ashley, and the two, despite what others would have thought given their rather non-sexual natures, thoroughly enjoyed it.

And it helped that they were together since being in dorms. Jessica was fairly quiet naturally, and Ashley became accustomed to the taste of pillows. They had perfected their craft far before they moved into the Bella household. Jessica, never failing to impress a bewildered Ashley, memorised everyone’s general school schedules and had a pretty good grasp on when someone would be home and who it would be. Ashley, in turn, came up with the devious idea to use Beca and Chloe’s noises to drown out their own. It was a bit weird and incredibly ironic, slinking around the girls with one of the most open and overt relationships of the group, but the two enjoyed the unintentional privacy they received.

Naturally, all good things had to come to an end eventually.

In the evening when everyone attended the formally informal family dinner, Ashley excused herself early on the pretense of a stomachache, and Jessica loyally followed her to their room. In reality, Ashley was horny as fuck after being almost completely deprived of her long-time girlfriend for a _week_. Between school and Bellas rehearsals, they barely had time to exchange kisses on the cheek. Completely ignoring the implications that she was turning into Stacie, who at times was completely unbearable from her pent-up frustrations, she immediately pinned her blonde girlfriend to the bed and pressed her lips against hers.

“Ash,” Jessica mumbled between giggles as Ashley leaned back to take off the girl’s shirt. “Calm down.” Nevertheless, she sat up and acquiesced to the removal of her clothing.

“You’re hot, and I’ve been daydreaming about this for a week now. Let me have this,” Ashley grumbled, pushing her back down and pressing her lips to Jessica’s neck, sucking gently. Jessica sighed, and her hands drifted up to wrap themselves around Ashley’s neck. Unexpectedly, her grip tightened, and she pulled Ashley closer to her. The brunette, suddenly more excited, brought her hands up to run along Jessica’s ribcage, occasionally brushing against her breasts. Jessica sighed happily again, wrapping a leg around Ashley’s waist. Ashley hummed contently and pulled back her hand in favour of running it down the girl’s leg. Evidently unsatisfied by the feeling of denim instead of smooth skin, she went for the buttons of Jessica’s pants.

“Mm, frisky tonight, aren’t you?” Jessica teased, thrusting her hips upwards (and, perhaps unintentionally, into Ashley’s) to allow her girlfriend to slide them down.

“If we go fast enough, maybe we can get leftovers before Fat Amy eats them all,” Ashley replied, kissing down Jessica’s collarbone.

“You claimed you had a stomachache,” she pointed out, letting out a soft moan when Ashley began running her hand along the inside of her thigh.

“Details, details.” She pulled Jessica forward to unclasp the girl’s bra, though Jessica put her hands on Ashley’s forearms to still her before it was fully off. “What?”

“My turn,” she said simply, pushing Ashley’s shirt up and over her head in one smooth motion before deftly undoing Ashley’s bra and tossing it over the side of the bed. Before Ashley could comprehend what she was doing, Jessica pulled her back down, and her lips connected with Ashley’s breast. Ashley’s breath hitched, and she grabbed a pillow to muffle her moan.

“You never cease to amaze me,” she mumbled, moaning against the pillow as Jessica ran her tongue along her nipple. Jessica simply smiled and pulled Ashley closer, tightening her legs around Ashley’s waist. Feeling Ashley’s pants rub up against her legs, Jessica freed one of her hands to push Ashley’s bottoms down so the skin of their thighs was flush against each other. Moaning again, Ashley pulled herself free of Jessica’s lips only to capture them again with her own, slipping her tongue inside the girl’s mouth.

As the two continued their ministrations, they failed to hear loud footsteps thudding up the stairs.

“Hey Ashley, how are you- OH MY GOD.” The girls completely froze like deers in headlights. Jessica and Ashley’s eyes flew open and widened to the size of saucers. Ashley abruptly pulled back and turned to the door. Apparently knocking was an ignorable concept as Chloe stood, shell-shocked with her mouth agape, with her hand on the handle. Jessica recovered with a squeak, her face burning to the colour of Chloe’s hair, grasping at the sheet to cover Ashley’s chest.

“Chloe!” she managed to sputter, holding her arm over her loose bra. The stunned redhead simply stood, her mouth opening and closing akin to a fish. Jessica and Ashley, unsure of what to say, stared back as their cheeks were completely aflame.

“Chloe?” Beca called from downstairs. “What’s wrong, Chlo?”

“DON’T COME UP HERE,” Chloe suddenly shrieked, and the rest of the Bellas began yelling their concerns at her. Chloe turned back to the half-naked girls, snapping her mouth shut and clearing her throat.

“BELLAS MEETING IN THE LIVING ROOM RIGHT NOW!” she demanded, slamming Jessica and Ashley’s door and running down the stairs. Ashley groaned and face-palmed, and Jessica bit her lip, still blushing brightly.

“…well that was awful,” Ashley finally mumbled, pulling up her pants before leaning down to grab her discarded bra. Jessica could only squeak, her hand covering her mouth. Quickly redressing herself, Ashley frowned when Jessica hadn’t moved. “Uh, honey? We gotta go. You okay?” Jessica shook her head fervently and buried her face in her hands.

“…I don’t think I can ever look Chloe in the eye again,” she muttered, groaning quietly. Ashley chuckled nervously and gently pat her back. She re-clasped her bra for her.

“We’ll just have to see how this, uh, meeting goes,” was all she could offer as she handed Jessica her shirt. Jessica whined and slowly slipped back into her clothes. Hopping off the bed, she grabbed Ashley in a tight embrace, sighing.

“It’ll be okay. Come on.” Ashley gently took Jessica’s hand and began leading her out the door. “Wait, hold on.” Jessica nervously looked up at her. “Your, uh… neck…” Jessica groaned and instinctively put her hand over the offending hickey.

“I haven’t been this embarrassed since hood night,” the blonde muttered, her grip on Ashley’s hand tightening whilst she continued to, rather redundantly, hide the mark on her neck. Ashley smirked and decided, for Jessica’s sake, not to say anything.

The two guiltily made their way to the living room where everyone was already sitting. Chloe stood in the centre like a disapproving mother, hands on her hips and staring them down. Stacie immediately took in their disheveled appearance, smirked in appreciation, and winked at Jessica, making her blush even harder. Fat Amy whooped loudly with a fist pump, and Cynthia-Rose clapped. Ashley rolled her eyes in response. Beca looked between the two for a few seconds before the brunette’s eyes widened and she whispered, “Oh.”

“Damn, you two were gettin’ it on,” Flo commented lackadaisically. Jessica groaned and hid herself behind her girlfriend. Desiring the attention of the girls, Chloe cleared her throat loudly.

“Jessica Smith. Ashley Jones,” she began, but Stacie immediately scoffed and turned to her.

“Chloe Beale,” she mocked, “You have absolutely nothing to say. You’re literally the loudest one in the house.” The rest of the Bellas made sounds of agreement, and Chloe at least had the decency to appear somewhat embarrassed. She crossed her arms with a harrumph.

“Oh shut up. Do as I say, not as I do.”

“Okay, maybe,” Beca tried, standing up with her palms out, “We should put some ground rules?”

“But will you actually follow them?” Fat Amy deadpanned, staring directly at her.

“I don’t know. Will Bumper?” Chloe shot back.

“Pass the popcorn,” Cynthia-Rose whispered to Flo.

“I am so happy I am single,” she whispered back.

“Hey, Bumper hasn’t been here since-”

“Since he was walking around with his junk out?” Ashley retorted, scoffing.

“It was not out!”

“No, but it was certainly up,” she muttered.

“Look, Chloe,” Stacie cut in, “You can’t suddenly decide you want to be stricter on our sexual needs when _you’re_ the one to suddenly walk in on someone.” Chloe narrowed her eyes.

“What are you implying?”

“Um, that we’ve all totally heard and walked in on you and Beca, but, when it’s _you_ walking in on someone, we suddenly need ground rules?”

“First of all, we all _still_ remember when Ashley walked in on you!” Stacie rolled her eyes whilst everyone, Ashley especially, cringed at the memory.

“That was literally _one_ time!”

“I’ve had to stand here and listen to you and Aubrey to make sure it was safe for everyone to come home!”

“And how many times has that happened?” Stacie challenged. “Meanwhile, I can’t count the amount of times everyone here has had to deal with you and Beca after, like, _a month_! And then you walk in on someone else, and, boom, we get restrictions?”

“That was Beca’s idea, not mine!”

“Whoa, dude!” Beca protested. “I’m just trying to keep the peace! It was just a suggestion!”

“She does have a point,” Cynthia-Rose added, actually having found popcorn. “It does sound pretty hypocritical.”

“I didn’t mean it that way!”

“You’re right, Beca,” Chloe snapped, giving the other girls a glare. “We’re just trying to be good captains.” Flo snorted.

“Look,” Ashley finally said, her head in one of her hands. Everyone’s attention landed on her. “Jessica and I are sorry you had to see that-”

“I wouldn’t be,” Cynthia-Rose muttered to Stacie who smirked again. Ashley shot her a glare as Jessica, behind her with her head against Ashley’s back, tightened her grip around Ashley’s arm.

“-but we were just, you know, doing couple things? Next time we’ll, I don’t know, do it outside the house?” Jessica, still red in the face, poked her head from around her.

“Um, where?” Ashley shrugged.

“Your car?” Jessica face-palmed and retreated back to her hiding spot.

“So is that what’s going on?” Chloe asked. “No sex in the house anymore?”

“I’m not renting a hotel room every time Aubrey comes to visit,” Stacie protested.

“Why can’t she? She has money now.”

“Why would we when we have a perfectly good bed – _my_ bed – right here?”

“Gee, I don’t know, because it’s disruptive to the group dynamic?!”

“Oh, that is _rich_ coming from you!”

“Hey!” Beca interrupted. “Knock it off, guys!” She sighed. “Look, we now apparently have three couples under one roof-”

“Technically Jessica and I were together first,” Ashley butted in with a mutter. Beca stared at her.

“Wait, seriously?”

“Focus, Becs,” Chloe reprimanded, but Ashley nodded.

“We went on our first date a month after that aca-initiation night.” The Bellas’ jaws dropped.

“Seriously?!” Ashley rolled her eyes, and Jessica finally recovered from her obvious embarrassment, smoothing down her shirt and finally dropping the hope that she could cover her hickey as she walked around her girlfriend. Cynthia-Rose whistled lowly at her, and Ashley glared in her direction.

“’Dixie Chicks serious’. Did you guys seriously not notice?” The room let out some awkward coughs and “ehhh’s”, and Ashley face-palmed. “I can’t believe it took to you guys walking in on us to get it.”

“Maybe next time you should be louder,” Stacie teased.

“ _Stacie!_ ” Jessica whined.

“Besides, you were the two gettin’ it,” Flo added unhelpfully.

“FLO!” Jessica cried, burying her hands with her face. Ashley sighed.

“Love at first sight?” Chloe ventured, evidently having calmed down at the possibility of a romantic story.

“More like confusion,” Ashley admitted. “We had no idea what we were doing.”

“Well you clearly do now,” Chloe replied, and Jessica groaned again, her face once again a vibrant scarlet.

“Can we please stop embarrassing my girlfriend for, like, two seconds?” Ashley requested exasperatedly.

“Uh, yeah. Let’s go back to talking about the house,” Beca said, drawing attention away from the blushing blonde.

“Okay, you bitches stop having sex in the house,” Fat Amy said instantly.

“You have a place to go to instead of here. That’s not fair,” Chloe protested.

“Life ain’t fair. You’re a ginger.” Chloe glared, and Beca grabbed her arm, pulling her back.

“We could try using the group text?” Beca tried.

“Uh, no thanks,” Ashley shot down. “I’m not going to tell you guys, ‘Hey, Jessica and I are banging tonight, ‘kay thanks bye’.”

“Bummer,” Stacie mumbled, and Ashley sighed loudly again.

“Sign on the front door?” Flo suggested.

“That is literally more obvious,” Ashley deadpanned.

“Stacie?” Chloe asked.

“I’m fine with declaring my sexual activity to the world, so I’m fine with anything,” the brunette replied, playing with her nails.

“I’m glad you’re confident,” Beca remarked dryly. Jessica took a deep breath and ran her hands down her face. Whilst still flushed, she regained her ability to speak, and that was what mattered.

“Okay,” she began. Everyone instantly turned to her. “We could try a system. You know how people put stuff over their door handles when they’re, you know… going at it? We could try that, but on the house door instead of the bedroom door. That way, people will know _before_ they walk in. It’s a little subtler than a sign, and it’s not super explicit.” The girls paused to consider the thought.

“Aw, babe, you’re full of great ideas,” Ashley gushed, pulling Jessica closer. The blonde offered a small smile. “Careful, Stace, you might have someone giving you a run for your money in the smarts department.” Stacie chuckled good-naturedly.

“Remember, hot dumb one.” Beca rolled her eyes at the pre-med biology major minoring in astrophysics and chemistry.

“That’s… actually not a bad idea,” Chloe let out slowly.

“Ugh, finally,” Flo muttered loudly. “Now we can know when the horndogs are barking.”

“Ha ha,” Chloe mumbled. “Okay, how does everyone feel about that?” The girls gave noises of approval, and Fat Amy raised her hand. “…yes?”

“So does this mean Bumper is allowed back?”

“No,” everyone instantly replied, and Fat Amy rolled her eyes and waved her hand.

“I, for one, think this is great,” Emily finally said, smiling brightly.

“Do we do different things for different couples?” Stacie asked.

“Yes,” Cynthia-Rose replied. “Ya’ll are different... people, so we’ll know which sides of the house to avoid before we hear someone screamin’ like they’re in a horror movie.” Chloe rolled her eyes, a light blush finally dusting her cheeks. “So how about a tie for Bechloe, the Bellas’ ribbon for Staubrey, and a plastic bag for Jessley?” she suggested, counting off the couples. The girls stared back at her.

“Um, what?” Beca finally asked.

“What kind of code are you speaking? Even I don’t recognise it,” Flo asked.

“They’re couple names!” Everyone stared at her. “Aw, come on, how can I be the only one who knows this?”

“Please don’t tell me you mean something like Brangelina,” Chloe replied. Cynthia-Rose pointed at her with a piece of popcorn stuck in her teeth.

“Exactly!”

“Ain’t that shit too white for you?” Stacie asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Naw, shit’s super white. I’m just lazy. So Beca and Chloe are ‘Bechloe’, Stacie and Aubrey are ‘Staubrey’, and Jessica and Ashley are ‘Jessley’.” Fat Amy huffed.

“’Bhloe’ is better. Everyone loves a good Bhloe.” Beca rolled her eyes.

“Um, who actually carries a tie around?” Chloe asked, raising her eyebrows.

“You now, honey,” Stacie quipped. Chloe glared at her again before sighing.

“Fine. Let’s try this.”

“And for every time someone forgets, they have to do the house chores for a week,” Cynthia-Rose suddenly added with a glint in her eye.

“A week?!” Beca cried indignantly.

“That’s a terrible idea,” Chloe agreed. “Only Jessica is good at keeping this house from looking like a complete pigsty.” Jessica rolled her eyes.

“Only Jessica actually puts effort into keeping this house from looking like a complete pigsty,” she mocked under her breath as the rest of the Bellas coughed and avoided eye contact.

“Sex jar?” Cynthia-Rose tried instead. “Put in a dollar every time you’re caught?”

“And where does that go?” Ashley asked.

“Our group funds?” Chloe proposed.

“Better music equipment?” Beca opined.

“Me?” Fat Amy suggested.

“Groceries?” Jessica deadpanned, raising an eyebrow. Again, everyone coughed and avoided eye contact.

“Sounds good,” Stacie said with an air of finality, shrugging. The other girls nodded.

“Great! So it’s settled,” Chloe decided, going to the kitchen and pulling out a sizeable jar. With a black sharpie she seemed to procure from thin air, she wrote in bold letters _SEX JAR_. “There.” She sat it on the living room table proudly.

“…who knew we’d be in a world where a ‘sex jar’ was needed,” Beca muttered under her breath.

“I have jars of people’s sex organs in my room,” Lilly mumbled.

…

There was a pregnant pause as everyone turned to stare at her before shaking their heads.

“Okay,” Chloe announced, clapping her hands. “Meeting adjourned.” Everyone slowly left to return to their own devices, and Ashley nudged Jessica.

“Want to continue where we left off?” she whispered, smirking. Jessica simply glared at her and walked towards the kitchens to do the dishes. “Oh, come on!”

“Sex jar’s in effect,” Jessica pointed out, “So tomorrow.” Ashley rolled her eyes.

Sex jar be damned, she was going to bed that night her girlfriend if it killed her. Which, after seeing the heated argument, it very well might. Oh well.


	6. Remix This

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt from Literallybeenherethewholetime taken a little too far: "Well I was kind of thinking of something where Jessica and Ashley purposely mess up in rehearsal or do something outrageous to get attention? The Bellas can either notice or not and I’d leave what they do up to you."
> 
> Song used: "Clean Bandit, Marina and the Diamonds, top - Symphony In My Radioactive Heart (Pitched mashup)" by GINGERGREEN ' (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JQjzWXUKYD0&index=3)
> 
> TRIGGER WARNING: DEPICTION OF PANIC ATTACK

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Jessica Smith, Ashley Jones; Jessley  
> Beca Mitchell, Chloe Beale; Bechloe  
> Fat Amy  
> Stacie Conrad, Aubrey Posen; Staubrey  
> Cynthia-Rose Adams  
> Lilly Onakurama  
> Florencia 'Flo' Fuentes  
> Emily Junk  
> 

With a grin threatening to break her face, Chloe opened the front door (only slightly forcefully, though she caught it before it slammed into the wall) and skipped inside. Cynthia-Rose, sitting on the couch and eating a pasta salad, smiled and waved at her.

“Hey Red!”

“Hi CR!” Chloe dropped her bag on the ground beside the arm of the sofa.

“What’s happenin’?” Her grin grew impossibly wide.

“Oh, I was just thinking that _we…”_ She trailed off dramatically. “…should start thinking about making a new set to keep our first-place title!” Cynthia-Rose’s eyes lit up.

“Oh shit, already?!” Chloe bobbed her head in excitement. “Aww, hells yeah!”

“We’re gonna blow ICCA out of the water!” Cynthia-Rose matched Chloe's expression, and she went to throw her plate into the sink. “Sooo, it’s time for a meeting!” With that, Chloe yelled for everyone to come downstairs, bounding around to make sure she properly rounded up the group.

“Okay guys!” Chloe began once everyone was present, clapping her hands to grab the group’s attention. “ICCA is just around the corner, so it’s time to spice it up with a rockin’ new set!” The girls let out their loud sounds of approval.

“Whatcha thinkin’, Chlo?” Beca inquired with her arms crossed.

“IIII am thinking we should throw around some ideas-”

“Okay, consider: Fat Amy, solo. Song: ‘I’m Too Sexy’. I want no less than three back-up dancers,” Fat Amy interrupted with a raised hand.

“No,” everyone instantly shot down. Fat Amy threw her arms up. Chloe rolled her eyes and cleared her throat.

“Like I was _saying_ , I was thinking we should throw around some ideas together! What’s everyone listening to?” Her eyes lit up. “I heard a Halsey song on the radio a few days ago and really got into her!”

“I know her,” said Beca. “She would be pretty good.”

“I just got Aubrey into Imagine Dragon’s latest album,” Stacie offered.

“I love that band!” Chloe replied. Beca nodded and hummed.

“Okay, okay… That gives me an idea: ‘Gasoline’ and ‘Believer’. What do you guys think?”

“I think I have no idea what either of those songs are,” Cynthia-Rose teased.

“What? You don’t know Imagine Dragons?” Chloe asked, completely shocked. “ _Or_ Halsey?!”

“Who and who?”

“Let’s pull them up right now!” she decided, pulling out her phone. She opened her Spotify app and quickly set up their Bluetooth speaker. “First up is ‘Gasoline’!” Within a matter of minutes, Halsey’s voice filled the room. Ashley smiled and bobbed her head to the music.

“Dang, this is a sad song,” Stacie noted.

“It is,” Chloe agreed.

“I think it’ll be too slow with ‘Believer’. Not the best for mixing material.”

“Let Red play the other song first. I haven’t heard them either,” Flo replied. Once “Gasoline” faded away, Chloe switched the song to Imagine Dragon’s “Believer”. Stacie watched Flo as the song progressed.

“Hm, yeah, this is gonna be real slow,” she agreed, nodding at Stacie. “If we sing this, we’re gonna need more upbeat stuff around it.”

“So we’ll find more songs,” Chloe said simply.

“Wait, now I’m not so sure,” Beca interjected. “Having too many songs might make it messy, and we can’t be sure we could handle it.” Chloe put her finger to her chin.

“Good point.” She pointed upwards and beamed. “How about this: Ed Sheeran, ‘Shape of You’?”

“Paired with what?”

“Well… Ooh! This is toootally a throwback to middle school, but ‘Fireflies’ by Owl City?” Stacie blanched.

“Owl City? No thank you.” Chloe pouted. “Sorry. Not my kind of music.”

“Play these songs,” Cynthia-Rose requested. “Y’all are speakin’ another language or somethin’.” Chloe again searched for and played the songs back-to-back. Stacie rolled her eyes when Owl City began playing, and Cynthia-Rose wrinkled her nose. “What kinda white shit is this?” Chloe laughed.

“Hey now!”

“ _Hey now_ ,” Stacie sung teasingly.

“ _This is what dreams are made of!_ ” the rest of the room, sans Cynthia-Rose, chorused back, resulting in the girls breaking out into giggles.

“A Disney theme?!” Chloe tried, bouncing on the balls of her feet.

“No,” Beca immediately shot down. At Chloe’s pout, she rolled her eyes. “I left that song behind when I was eleven.”

“What, don’t want a blast from the past?” Fat Amy quipped. “That can be our theme. We’ll wear shoulder pads and fanny packs and-”

“‘When I was eleven’, not ‘before I was born’.”

“But an old-school mix would be so fun!” Chloe exclaimed. Beca raised her eyebrows.

“Um, no.”

“Aw, come on, Becs!” Chloe teased. “You don’t want to wear leg warmers?”

“Yeah, no,” Beca deadpanned. “Okay, how about this: What if we just go with one artist?”

“Like a mega mashup of, I dunno, Lady Gaga?” Chloe queried, cocking her head. “I like that!”

“I think that’s something to consider, but I don’t want people who don’t know the artist to get bored.”

“But we can’t please everyone,” Cynthia-Rose pointed out.

“Clearly,” Stacie commented, gesturing to the room. Chloe hummed again, then snapped her fingers.

“Okay, I have an idea!” All eyes landed on her. “Let’s each make a list of a few songs we can put together, and we’ll come back and talk about it!”

“Like, individually?” asked Fat Amy. Chloe shrugged.

“Or you guys can work together. Whatever you’d like.” She turned to Beca for a split second, and the girls who noticed either smirked or rolled their eyes. “Let’s meet up again on Friday?”

“That’s awhile,” Beca pointed out. It was Monday night with most of the girls ready to go to bed.

“All the more time to think!” Beca stared back at her, then shrugged. “So we feeling good?”

“Well you bitches ignored my idea, so I’m out,” Fat Amy declared.

“Yeah, I’m not really the mixing person,” Flo said.

“And we have to think about choreography on top of classes. I think we’ll be too busy,” added Stacie.

“I’m always here if you y’all have questions, but I’m drawin’ a blank right now, to be honest,” Cynthia-Rose admitted. “I’ll think on it.”

“Great! Okay guys…  break!” The girls quickly scattered, leaving Jessica and Ashley seated at the couch. Jessica turned to her companion with a perky smile, but it faltered when she noticed the glassy look in her eyes.

“Ashley?” The girl broke out of her reverie to turn to the blonde.

“Oh, sorry Jess. Let’s go to our room.” With that, Ashley stood up and immediately headed for the stairs, leaving behind her girlfriend. Bewildered, Jessica followed her slowly, entering the bedroom with the most caution she’d ever felt around her since they began dating.

“Ashley?” she asked again. She heard the sounds of her girlfriend rummaging through their closet and went to sit down at their desk chair to wait for her. A few minutes later, Ashley walked out in her nightwear, throwing the clothes she had been wearing in their shared hamper.

“What are _you_ thinking for the set?” Jessica asked her with a smile, trying to catch her attention after the awkward silence.

“I’m thinking…” She turned to Jessica with an intense expression, causing her to flinch. “…we should put our heads together to make a mind-blowing mashup,” Ashley replied seriously, leaning forward and putting her hands on the arms of Jessica’s chair. Jessica cocked her head with a small, if not confused, smile.

“Well of course, honey!” But Ashley shook her head.

“Not like that. I mean, like…” Ashley turned away and sighed. “Something amazing! Something that’ll, you know… make them notice us.” Jessica’s gaze softened, and she sighed.

“Ashley…” She murmured gently, reaching up to stroke Ashley’s cheek.

“I don’t mean to be bitter,” Ashley replied quickly. “But they didn’t even _think_ to ask us for our opinions! I’m just getting kind of tired of it, you know? It’s been two years! Like, come on!” Ashley slammed her palms on the arms of the chair and, like a wounded animal, Jessica withdrew her hand. Ashley blinked and leaned back with wide eyes. “Oh, Jess, I’m so sorry.”

“No, I understand that, dear.” Jessica shook her head rapidly. “But I’m just not sure why you’ve been so upset about it lately…” She ran a shaky hand down Ashley’s arm. They both felt overshadowed frequently, if not perpetually, but something had been setting the brunette off even more for the past few days. No matter how Jessica tried to go about asking her girlfriend, Ashley simply refused to expand further on the subject.

“You know I’ll always be here for you, right?” she asked before the other girl could become defensive. Ashley took Jessica’s hand and kissed her palm.

“Yes, I do. You’re absolutely wonderful.” Jessica smiled and tugged Ashley down to give her a chaste kiss on the lips. She frowned upon seeing the concern still lining Ashley’s face. “Ash…”

“Sorry,” she muttered, shaking her head. “I’m thinking about the set thing.” Jessica cocked her head. “I just think it’s a good opportunity for us to say, ‘Hey, we’re still here too’ without being, like, too flamboyant, you know?” She nodded. “What do you think?”

“About the mix?”

“And about being ignored.” Jessica bit her lip.

“I think the mix is a good idea, and I’ll do everything I can to help you!” Ashley beamed, and Jessica grinned before becoming serious again. “And about not being noticed?” She paused and casted her gaze down to her lap. “It _is_ frustrating, but… I mean, I have you. And it’s not like they mean to be, well, mean… They just get… wrapped up their own worlds easily…”

“And they’re forgetful, unobservant, and even inconsiderate at times.”

“Ashley,” Jessica chided.

“Sorry,” she muttered, sounding decidedly unapologetic. Jessica sighed and took Ashley’s hands into her own.

“Why don’t you give me your song list, and I’ll try my best to make an _a capella_ arrangement before even bringing it back to the group? It’d be super impressive if we already had everything almost ready to go.” Ashley’s eyes lit up.

“Seriously? You’re okay with this?” Jessica nodded slowly.

“I want you to be happy. So let’s brainstorm together!” Grinning, Ashley leaned down to peck her on the lips.

“Tomorrow. It’s time for bed.” She pulled her up and wrapped her arms around her waist. Jessica hummed and kissed Ashley’s neck.

“Tomorrow.” With that, the two girls finished their nighttime routine and cuddled on their bed, falling into a peaceful sleep, before Jessica was startled awake when Stacie, who left for her morning bioethics lecture, accidentally slammed the door a little too hard as she, presumably, rushed out to avoid being late. Yawning, she laid in Ashley’s arms, lazily tracing circles on the girl’s palms.

 _Oh, sweetheart…_ Jessica sighed, turning on her back to stare at her girlfriend. Absentmindedly stroking back her dark hair, she smiled as Ashley showed absolutely no signs of waking up. In her sleep, she looked the most peaceful than she had since she began ranting about the other Bellas.

Jessica bit her lip. Whilst Ashley would periodically complain about something regarding the lack of acknowledgement the other girls so much as offered them, Jessica always calmed her down and promised she was always there for her. Ashley’s hanging onto the subject at every moment was something new, and Jessica honestly had no idea what to do to help. Her girlfriend would rebuff her attempts to get her to talk to her past ranting about things Jessica had already heard a thousand times over, and the blonde couldn’t pinpoint any particular incident that would be cause for alarm. All she could assume was Ashley finally snapped after an extended period of pure negligence, to the point where the girls legitimately mixed the two of them up despite their clearly contrasted appearances. But she wasn’t sure of anything.

She’d never felt so helpless when it came to Ashley and, if she was being honest with herself, it was tearing her apart.

Jessica sighed again and turned onto her other side so she was facing her girlfriend. She rested her head on her arm and began using her free hand to trace a path up Ashley’s cheek, through her hair, down to her fingertips, then back up along her chest to repeat the process. Being such a heavy sleeper, Ashley didn’t even twitch under Jessica’s nails.

Lying together in bed brought Jessica back to the memory of the first time she woke up with the girl beside her. She smiled fondly. It was back in Jessica’s dorm when they were freshmen. They had usually hung out in Ashley’s, but Jessica’s roommate was, for once, gone for the weekend, and her room was considerably cleaner than Ashley’s. The two had watched a few movies back-to-back until they realised it was well past 3:00 AM. Without hesitation, Jessica insisted Ashley stay over and _heavily_ insisted they share her bed whilst gently reminding Ashley of their initial meeting in which the brunette woke up on the floor. Ashley, laughing, happily agreed, and they shuffled awkwardly until they finally managed to hold each other comfortably. In the middle of the night, Jessica woke up sweating because she wasn’t used to having another body, along with her covers, keeping her warm. So, awkwardly, she extricated herself, drank some water to cool down, then returned to the bed and curled up against Ashley again. But, after seeing her peacefully sleeping form the next morning, Jessica realised she might _just_ have wanted to wake up like that every day.

Over a year later, and she was living what she once thought was possibly a fleeting thought. Rather, it became a dream, then the best reality she could have ever hoped to experience. She was completely in love, and she would do just about anything for her beautiful girlfriend.

With those thoughts lingering, she decided to wake Ashley up. She sat up fully in bed and yawned, then gently began shaking the brunette. “Ashley,” she croaked from a dry throat. She swallowed and repeated, more loudly, “Ashley.”

Ashley truly lucked out. She was an astonishingly heavy sleeper (much to Jessica’s chagrin, the girl had slept through fire alarms and, at one point, even a decently powerful earthquake) but Jessica was astonishingly patient, once having taken twenty full minutes to get Ashley to open her eyes. Temperature, Jessica found, did not affect the girl’s state of sleep, so tearing away the covers was next to useless. Vibrations, evidently, were fairly fruitless, but she tended to instinctively try to shake her awake anyway. Her best hope was to just repeat her name, as that was what Ashley seemed to respond to best.

That morning, Ashley didn’t seem to be having it, and Jessica almost gave up and considered filling their water cup in their restroom and dumping it on her (though she hated doing so – not only was it rude, despite having permission to do so, but it also generally soaked their pillow and sheets, meaning they had to do laundry the same day). Before she could fully ponder the alternative method, Ashley groaned and finally began stirring.

Once the girl began moving, it was monumentally easier to wake her up – still not the easiest job Jessica had ever had, but easier than Ashley’s first stage of sleep. In her second stage, she responded better to touch.

Jessica began scratching her scalp before dipping down to leave a trail of kisses down Ashley’s cheek to her exposed shoulder. Ashley twitched and shifted, and Jessica simply moved with her until the girl groaned and stretched her arms over her head. Jessica smiled and cupped Ashley’s face with both hands, enjoying a deep, languid kiss. Humming, Ashley brought her arms around Jessica’s neck and pulled her closer, slipping her tongue into the other girl’s mouth. Jessica’s hands dropped to Ashley’s hips before gliding under the other girl’s shirt and gently squeezing her breasts.

With a moan, Ashley gently pushed Jessica off her with a lazy grin stretched across her face. “Good morning,” she murmured. Jessica smiled and gave her a kiss on the forehead.

“Good morning, love.” She sat up, straddling Ashley’s waist, and Ashley brought her hands to rest on the girl’s hips, tracing circles on the small of her back, before giving her butt a nice squeeze. Jessica squeaked, and Ashley winked at her. “Looks like you’ve got your hands full,” she teased.

“Of the best girlfriend in the world? Oh yeah.” Jessica’s gaze softened, and she leaned down press her lips against Ashley’s. Lying on top of her comfortably, her hands began wandering again as she gently began pressing her hips against Ashley’s. Ashley’s breath hitched in her throat when Jessica pushed her legs apart to allow her core to sit against Ashley’s thigh. Groaning, she pushed Jessica back again. The blonde cocked her head and buried her fingers in Ashley’s hair.

“Jess, if you do this to me right now, I’ll never get out of bed.”

“I don’t see why that’s a problem,” she replied nonchalantly, casually scratching Ashley’s head. Ashley groaned again.

“We’re gonna get in trouble…”

“Our door’s locked this time,” Jessica whispered with a few gently tugs at Ashley’s hair.

“Babe,” she whined, “We have work to do. And I’m hungry.” Nevertheless, she shifted her thigh higher, smirking when Jessica gasped and dug her nails into Ashley’s scalp. Jessica leaned down and pressed a kiss to Ashley’s temple.

“Work can wait,” she murmured lowly, making Ashley shudder. “And there’s plenty to eat here.” Ashley stared with her mouth agape as Jessica winked before breaking character and giggling with a blush.

“Damn,” Ashley breathed. “Stacie’s been giving you tips, I see. I like this wicked temptress side of you.” Jessica bit her lip before sitting up straight and, in one smooth motion, pulling her shirt over her head, throwing it over the side of the bed.

“Do you like this too?” she asked in a husky voice, settling herself over Ashley’s body again. The brunette’s eyes widened, and she unconsciously licked her lips.

“Mmm…” Tilting her head, Jessica began sucking the spot on Ashley’s neck that she knew would drive her girlfriend crazy. One of her hands pushed Ashley’s shirt up to expose her breast. Ashley groaned again, wrapping a leg around Jessica’s hips and grinding up against her, making the girl gasp and moan.

“Fine, you win.” Jessica smiled against her neck. Her breath caught in her throat when Ashley squeezed her breasts, and she moaned again when she felt nails gently rake down her skin. “But, after this, it’s breakfast and talking about that mix.”

“Deal.” With that, Jessica shimmied out of her pants as Ashley quickly shed her own clothes, and the two, metaphorically, went back to bed

A few hours later, the girls made their way to the kitchen. Whilst Jessica was absolutely glowing, Ashley had a more irritated aura surrounding her. “’Breakfast’,” she grumbled with air quotes. Jessica smiled a rather unapologetic smile.

“Hey, you ate.” Ashley shook her head as Jessica giggled and wrapped her arms around the blonde’s waist, pulling her flush against her chest.

“You’re being unusually dirty this morning.” Jessica turned to kiss Ashley’s cheek.

“I was just thinking about how much I love you and wanted to… express that.” Ashley lit up, and she turned to give Jessica yet another kiss on the lips. Jessica put her hands over Ashley’s and leaned into her. With a final kiss on the cheek, she patted Ashley’s hands. “Okay, food?”

“Food.” They disentangled themselves. Ashley went for the coffee, and Jessica went for the pots and pans. Behind them, Fat Amy walked in.

“Hey you two,” Fat Amy said. The girls chorused greetings. “Hey, uhhh… Jessica.” The girl in question cocked her head. “Are you making lunch today?”

“For me and Ashley, yeah. Why? Did you want some?” Ashley frowned, but neither Fat Amy nor Jessica seemed to register the expression.

“Yeah! Could you make me somethin’ to eat? I’m starving.” Jessica smiled and nodded.

“Of course, Fat Amy!”

“Sweet,” Fat Amy said, almost to herself, before returning to her room. Jessica turned back to Ashley only to find the brunette frowning deeply.

“Ashley?”

“You shouldn’t have done that.” Jessica mirrored Ashley’s expression.

“Done what?”

“Said you’d cook for her.”

“Why not?” Ashley scowled.

“She’s so unappreciative. All the time. Look at her just using you for food!”

“Ashley, I’m happy to cook for everyone!” Her girlfriend shook her head.

“So? They aren’t even that thankful, considering they barely know us.” With that, Ashley huffed and began making herself a mug of coffee. Jessica bit her lip, and the two awkwardly went about preparing their shared lunch.

As per their usual routine, Jessica handled the actual cooking. In turn, Ashley set the table, poured their drinks, and promised to do the dishes. Once Jessica finished their (overly fancy, in Ashley’s honest opinion – how did she even _do_ that?) French toast, Ashley sat down. Much to her distaste, Jessica left to give Fat Amy her share before sitting down as well and taking her first few bites.

After a few mouthfuls, Ashley began talking, letting her excitement overtake her annoyance. She brought up suggestion after suggestion, barely pausing to breathe and leaving Jessica’s head spinning. Laughing, Jessica caught the girl enough times for them to take a break to eat before Ashley started up again.

When Ashley suggested “Symphony” by Clean Bandit, “Radioactive” by Marina and the Diamonds, and “Tear in My Heart” by Twenty One Pilots, Jessica put up a finger to silence her. “Huh. I actually know those songs…”

“Yeah? Whatcha think?” Jessica twirled a strawberry at the end of her fork.

“That sounds like a good mix,” she mused. “The songs would work together lyrically, if I recall correctly, and they have nice melodies to work with.” Ashley lit up like a child receiving praise from their parents.

“You think so?!” She wasn’t known for making mixes or even suggestions, so hearing Jessica’s encouragement thrilled her beyond imagination. She reached out and grabbed Jessica’s unoccupied hand. Jessica bit into her strawberry and nodded.

“But I’ll think about your other suggestions! Once I get everything sorted in my head, I can start working on the set.”

“Really?!”

“Of course, sweetie! I’ll try starting something after practice,” Jessica promised. Ashley squealed in excitement.

“You’re amazing!” Jessica waved off her comment with a bashful grin whilst finishing off her strawberry, and their conversation steered towards school. At 1:30 PM, Ashley began cleaning the dishes as Jessica prepared herself for the day, leaving at 2:00 PM to go to her only Monday class. She and Ashley shared a kiss before she headed off to music theory.

The two reconvened at the Bellas’ afternoon rehearsal. Without a set, the girls focused on conditioning, leaving everyone breathless. During a minute break, Jessica and Ashley broke off from the group to write down all of the previously suggested song names on a scrap piece of paper. As the Bellas returned home from their practice, Jessica was mulling over the list she had in her hand. She decided the Clean Bandit/Marina and the Diamonds/Twenty One Pilots mix would be the best. Beside her, Ashley was positively dancing with excitement as she led her distracted girlfriend up to their room. Jessica immediately sat at their desk.

Taking a spare piece of paper from a notebook, she scribbled the three song names down before using her earbuds to listen to each individually. She noted bits and pieces of the melodies and the singers’ voices before repeating the process. After only half an hour, she felt someone tap her on the shoulder. Turning, she found Ashley looking down at her with a smile. She pulled out her earbuds.

“Hey there. It’s midnight.” Jessica’s eyes widened.

“Wow, already?” She put her pencil down and stood and stretched.

“What do you have so far?” Ashley asked, reaching around for the paper. Jessica put her hand on Ashley’s and gently pushed her away.

“Just some notes and not the musical kind – nothing big yet.” Ashley grinned and pulled her in for a tight hug.

“I can’t believe you’re doing this for us.” Jessica smiled her typical smile and simply looked at Ashley when they parted, taking her hand and leading her to the restroom where they hurried themselves before heading to bed.

Jessica awoke at 8:00 AM to her alarm. Sometimes, she jokingly mused to herself, she thought about telling Ashley not to cuddle her because it just made her so comfy in the morning. Class never seemed so downright evil.

After lying around and contemplating her life choices for a few minutes, she finally kicked off the covers, got dressed, and headed to the restroom. Sometime later, she walked out, kissed Ashley’s temple, and left with her backpack.

Ashley woke up around noon and, by then, Jessica walked back in, setting her bag by the corner of their bed. The drowsy girl barely registered Jessica crawling into bed and lying down beside her on her stomach. She did, however, register her girlfriend taking her hand and rubbing her thumb over her fingers.

“Hey there, sleepyhead,” Jessica whispered. Ashley reached out and pulled her against her chest, burying her face in Jessica’s hair.

“I don’t wanna wake up,” she grumbled. Jessica giggled as she felt Ashley blow on the back of her neck.

“You only have two classes today,” she teased.

“So?” Jessica rolled her eyes.

“You’re paying for them.”

“Meh.” Jessica rolled over to peck her on the lips and knelt on the bed, gently tugging Ashley’s hands. With an exaggerated groan, the girl sat up and rubbed her eyes.

“Let’s just stay here forever,” she mumbled, pushing Jessica’s shirt up to kiss her stomach. Jessica giggled and ran her fingers through Ashley’s hair.

“I have to head out in an hour.” Ashley pouted.

“I know.” Winking, Jessica rolled out of bed and headed off to the kitchen for lunch. Ashley sighed and prepared herself for the day. By the time she was done, Jessica was eating a sandwich and watching television. Ashley plopped herself next to her and put an arm over her shoulders, her free hand taking her share of food. Once Jessica finished her food, she washed her plate before curling up against Ashley.

The hour, much to the girls’ disappointment, was far too short, and Jessica was off and out until the Bellas’ practice that evening whilst Ashley had a few hours of her own classes to attend. The two reconvened at rehearsal before having dinner with the rest of the group, all of whom decided to grab some Raising Cane’s and chat over food. Jessica shushed Ashley whenever she tried to bring up the set, given everyone else was happy to gossip and talk to each other about their day. She didn’t want to force the conversation.

When they returned home, it was past 10:00 PM, and Jessica sat herself down at their desk whilst Ashley went to the restroom. When she returned, she put her hands on Jessica’s shoulder and leaned over her.

“How’s it going, babe?” she asked. Jessica turned to her with a bright smile.

“Not bad! I didn’t get to do much beyond trying to figure out who would sing what. What do you think about this so far?” She turned so Ashley could move closer to the desk and read the paper. Ashley mumbled to herself as she read the notes, then looked at her in surprise.

“You gave me the lead vocals?” Jessica offered a small smile.

“I think your voice would really work for Marina and the Diamonds! And… I think you should have your first solo.”

“Seriously?” Ashley asked almost shyly despite looking like she was about to explode from pure joy. Jessica nodded enthusiastically and grabbed her hands.

“Seriously! But!” She stood up. “We need to start going to sleep. I’m super tired.”

“Mm, I think I’ll stay up a little longer,” Ashley replied, missing the flicker of sadness in Jessica’s eyes. “Just gonna hang downstairs with whoever’s still awake, I guess.”

“Okay!” Jessica kissed her on the cheek with a shaky grin. “When will you be home tomorrow? Maybe we could bounce around more ideas.”

“Actually… I have to go to class tomorrow and finish some homework at the library. Will you be okay by yourself?” Jessica’s face fell.

“Oh. Yeah, of course.” Ashley frowned and squeezed her hands.

“But we’ll talk when I get home, unless you’re asleep by then.” Jessica nodded slowly.

“Okay. Good night then.”

“Good night, Jess.” With that, Ashley followed through with her statement and headed to the living room. Watching her go, Jessica frowned and looked downward before glancing at her desk. _Maybe I’ll just work on it a little before bed…_

When Ashley returned late that night, expecting Jessica to be asleep already, she was surprised to see her still concentrating on the set. Perplexed, Ashley put a hand on her shoulder. “I thought you were going to bed.”

“Soon,” she murmured distractedly. Ashley stared at her, then pulled out her phone to check its clock. 12:03 AM.

“Are you sure?” Jessica nodded, and Ashley gently squeezed her shoulder before wordlessly heading to the restroom and, as per usual, settling down for the night. As Ashley’s breaths quickly evened out to indicated her falling asleep, Jessica unwaveringly stared at her notes, trying to make sense of how they would accomplish a certain portion of the mix.

As minutes ticked by, Jessica still sat alone at her and Ashley’s desk, rubbing her eyes again. She had no homework, having completed all she could, but the mental processing of the day took a heavy toll on her. Nothing was making sense, and she simply couldn’t focus. Sitting back, she closed her eyes and debated to herself. On one hand, she’d be letting Ashley down if it wasn’t as ready as she promised, and she was finding more issues with it than she had originally thought.

_(That’s your own fault, Jessica.)_

On the other hand, if she tried to work on the set, she’d probably spit out rubbish instead of anything truly substantial. With a sigh, logic won out, and she threw herself on the bed and fell asleep almost as soon as her head hit the pillow.

Her phone lit up from a trivial notification. The time read 3:58 AM.

Jessica managed a scant three hours before being awakened by Stacie leaving for another morning class and a jolly Chloe preparing breakfast for everyone. _Hell_ , she grumbled, pressing her face into the pillow. She only had one class in the late afternoon, and she was sure there were sleeping pills in the cabinet…

She groaned. Not worth it. She turned towards Ashley and shoved her face into the crook of her neck, willing everyone to, frankly (if not out of character for her), shut the fuck up. She laid in bed until she legitimately began feeling a headache coming on from all the noise and the lack of sleep. Sighing, she violently threw the covers off her and stomped to the medicine cabinet, popping an Advil and an Ambien and jumping back into bed. With the medication coursing through her body, she managed to fall back sleep through her usually alert state.

“Jessica?” The girl in question groaned and rolled over. “Jessica, don’t you have class?” _Class?_   “Jess, wake up!” Finally realising she was being shaken, she groaned again and opened her eyes blearily. Ashley turned her onto her back, and Jessica futilely rubbed the sleep away. Blinking rapidly, her and Ashley’s room was a complete blur. She felt Ashley force her to sit up.

“Jess, are you okay?” Blinking again, she dragged her hands down her face and rubbed at her eyes more, finally clearing them. To her left was Ashley, dressed and concerned and staring at her and… wait, didn’t she just say something?

“Jessica. Are you okay?” she repeated more firmly, pushing back some hair that had fallen haphazardly around the girl’s face. _Oh. Oh, uh… Um…_

“Sleeping pills,” she finally mumbled, almost appearing drunk.

“What? Why?” Jessica finally yawned and managed to feel vaguely coherent.

“Stacie and Chloe woke me up. I didn’t get much sleep last night.” She paused. “I remembered I had homework.” Ashley furrowed her eyebrows, and Jessica’s stomach dropped. She abhorred lying, especially to the person she loved with her entire being, and the thought that Ashley would be able to see right through her made proverbial bile rise up in her throat.

“Are you okay?” Ashley asked again slowly. Jessica nodded. Ashley hesitated before slowly sliding off the bed. “Are you going to make it to class?”

“I don’t think so…” she murmured, shaking her head. Ashley stared at her, and Jessica avoided her gaze by finding an extreme interest in her fingers.

“Are you sure you’re okay?”

“I’ll be better after food,” Jessica tried, swinging her feet off the bed. Much to her surprise, the room began spinning. She gripped the side of the mattress. Ashley quickly held her by her shoulders as Jessica stared intently at the floor.

“I think the meds are still affecting you,” Ashley concluded. “I’ll bring you leftover breakfast. Chloe didn’t burn anything this time. Hang tight.” Jessica nodded distractedly, still staring at the floor. Ashley dashed out of the room. When she returned, Jessica was standing and supporting herself with their nightstand. “Jess!”

“I need to wake up,” she whined, sounding (thankfully, Ashley thought) much more lucid.

“You need to eat first.” Ashley pushed her back down again and set a plate containing bacon and toast on her lap. Jessica smiled gratefully and quickly began chowing down. “Hey, slow down there!” Ashley laughed, gently stroking Jessica’s hair. Jessica simply giggled and leaned her head against Ashley’s stomach. The brunette grinned as Jessica continued eating.

“I guess you’re skipping class,” Ashley noted. Jessica blushed. “Hey, it’s okay! We all do it sometimes!” Actually, Jessica had never missed a single class in her college career. She had been late to classes, if not by only a few minutes, but never missed one. Her strong devotion to being responsible and staying organised prevented her from advocating truancy for herself. Regardless, she continued smiling.

“I’ll just take the day to catch up on more homework. Yesterday, all of my classes assigned homework due by the end of this week, and it’s awful. And I still have other stuff to turn in.” Jessica shook her head. Ashley bent down to kiss it.

“Take it easy anyway.” She pushed more hair from Jessica’s face. “I have to go now, okay?” Jessica nodded and set her plate aside to stand and hug her girlfriend.

“I’ll walk down with you and wash off my plate.”

“Oh, I can do that for you.”

“You can. But you won’t.”  Ashley coughed, and Jessica silently walked around her to the kitchen with Ashley on her heels. She began rinsing off her plate as Ashley secured her backpack over her shoulders.

“Okay, I’ll see you later.” The two exchanged a kiss, and Ashley was out the door. After, Jessica set her plate in the dishwasher and trudged upstairs to think about her suddenly ridiculous workload. Booting up her computer, she put her pencil in her mouth, turned on some music (casually skipping a Marina and the Diamonds song), and began trying to even understand what her assignments wanted from her on top of three essays. Really? She was a performance major! But alas, she was tied to additional humanities, all of which required a hefty amount of reading and writing.

Her concentration was only broken by practice. After was dinner, and then she was right back on the old grind. Ashley stayed true to her statement and was at the library, apparently crying about some project based on her stream of pissed-off texts, until “way too fuckin late”.

When her girlfriend walked into the room, it was 1:00 AM, and Ashley was surprised Jessica was still awake. “Jess? Whatcha doin’?”

“Homework still.” She had considered calling it quits early on, but one side of her argued that she needed to polish up what she had already written for her essays so she could have more time to finish the mix. She was on a heavy time crunch – it was already Thursday morning.

“Babe, why don’t you do this tomorrow?” she tried.

“I just want to get it out of the way, and then I need to finish the set before we talk about it,” she mumbled. Ashley walked so she was behind the blonde and glanced at the desk. Papers filled to the brim with pencil markings and pen scribbles littered its top. Wordlessly, she brought her hands up to Jessica’s shoulders. She firmly began rubbing her tight muscles, and Jessica immediately dropped her pencil and leaned back into the touch.

Well then. An impromptu massage would make anyone want to moan.

She did so.

“Mm, I like that,” Ashley teased, using her thumbs to gently press into the base of Jessica’s neck.

“Me too,” Jessica breathed, tilting her head down.

“Please take a break. Or we can start moaning in other ways?”

“I can’t concentrate on anything you’re saying while you’re-” Another moan. “-doing this to me.” Ashley hummed in amusement.

“Oh really? That was a pretty concentrated statement.”

“Shut up.” Ashley leaned down to begin planting kisses along the side of Jessica’s neck. Jessica moaned softly again and tilted her head to allow the brunette easier access. Ashley stopped as she reached about halfway down to begin sucking one particular spot. The blonde’s breathing grew laboured.

She moaned louder when Ashley ran her tongue along the developing hickey.

“Shh,” Ashley teased. “They’ll hear us.” Jessica found enough clarity in her lust-induced haze to roll her eyes. They both knew perfectly well that not even Chloe and Stacie, the girls adjacent to their room, could ever hear Jessica’s moans, even at her loudest.

When Ashley both pressed her back and sucked her neck simultaneously, Jessica finally snapped. She abruptly pushed Ashley back, stood from her chair, and led the girl backwards to their bed. “You win,” she said simply as Ashley quickly removed Jessica’s top. She followed through with the pants before gently flipping them over and returning to marking Jessica’s neck. Before Jessica could be fully enveloped in her lover, the knowledge that the set still was not as complete as she wished tugged in the back of her head. It was a passing thought immediately dispersed when she realised Ashley had already pulled off her bra and was slowly dragging her underwear down, positioning herself between her legs.

Hours later, Jessica was tiredly lying in bed on her back, completely undressed and beside an equally spent Ashley. Another new hickey prominently presented itself on the side of her neck, and she smiled dreamily.

And yet…

She stared at the ceiling whilst debating whether or not to get out of bed. She really did more sleep. And. Yet… Closing her eyes, the vision of a disappointed Ashley appeared inside her eyelids, and she drew a sharp breath.

The pressure felt suffocating, and Jessica let out a long-suffering sigh before kicking off the covers and trudging over to her drawers to grab some night clothes. She yawned, pulling her pants up, and slowly made her way to her desk. Booting up her laptop to listen to the songs a few more times, she yawned widely again and set her elbows on the table. She put her hands up to her forehead and leaned her head against the heels of her hands as her computer finished turning on. She felt herself slipping and her eyes closing before violently shaking herself awake and logging in. Looking down at her notes, she deduced she could finish before _too_ late(early?).

Hopefully.

Rubbing her eyes again, she looked down at her laptop time. 5:12 AM. _What? When did that happen?_ It felt as though she had just begun – the entire day was running into each other, and she felt as though she was beginning to watch it pass by, unable to keep up anymore due to her lack of self-care.

Jessica sighed, running her hands down her face. She hadn’t been up so late since _high school_ , but sleeping the day away and homework and practice and late night/early morning sex had kept her from continuing the mix. But Friday had approached more quickly than she had hoped, and she really needed to work out more kinks. She looked down at her notes, the lines and words beginning to blur and their meanings being lost on her. Shaking her head, she looked back to Ashley’s still form on their bed, rubbed her eyes, and turned back to her work.

She was exhausted, but Ashley was worth it, so she kept telling herself. Thus, she picked up her pencil, put it to the paper, and soldiered on. Even if it was nonsense, it was nonsense in writing.

Ashley woke up to her obnoxious alarm, literally designed to be a pain in the ass (and something she knew would unfortunately get Jessica stirring as well without fail), and she yawned and stretched. Opening her eyes, she immediately frowned when she realised her lover was not present in bed with her and her typical spot was not warm. Pushing herself up in alarm, Ashley looked around before settling on their desk. Sitting there with arms folded over her open laptop and her head on top of them was Jessica, looking more haggard than Ashley had ever seen her.

Unfortunately, like clockwork, Jessica groaned when hearing the alarm and opened her eyes. Ashley quickly hopped out of bed and ran to her side. “Jess?” Jessica turned slightly to eye the brunette. Ashley ran her fingers through Jessica’s hair. “Did you not go to bed last night or something?” Jessica yawned and stared back in a sleep-induce haze for a few heartbeats before sitting up straight with her eyes closed.

“Um…” she mumbled. Ashley gasped and glared.

“Jessica!” She could only shrug. “What the hell?! You’ve _never_ done this before!” Jessica suddenly turned to her girlfriend, a scowl mangling her features.

“I didn’t have time to work on the mix yesterday, and I kept finding stuff I had to fix, okay? It’s already Friday,” she snapped unexpectedly. With wide eyes, Ashley recoiled with an open mouth. Any reply she could have considered formulating died in her throat. Jessica blinked, startled at herself, then sighed and bowed her head.

_Shit._

“I’m sorry. I just… I… I need sleep,” she mumbled. Ashley gently tugged at her hands, pulling the blonde up to her full height.

“Yes, you do.” She gently cupped her face, and Jessica leaned into the touch. “Can you rest now?” Jessica nodded.

“I don’t have class today, so I’ll just take a nap before we all meet up.” Ashley stared at her sceptically, and Jessica presented her with a weak smile.

“Fine,” Ashley finally acquiesced with a sigh. “Go to bed and _sleep_. Please. I have to go now, so I’ll meet you after class.” With a kiss on Jessica’s cheek, Ashley rushed to dress herself and take her leave. The moment she closed the door behind her, Jessica’s characteristic smile dropped, and she fell to the bed.

After essentially losing a day to a stupid decision to take sleeping pills and do homework, she wanted to smack herself. Even worse, she knew she was about to lose most of Friday. She wasn’t sure, but she believed she finally fell asleep a little after 6:00 AM, which meant she would be in bed all day to make up for that.

Jessica absolutely detested herself. All she could do was close her eyes and positively pass out in her and Ashley’s bed atop the covers.

Waking up to the sounds of the girls having their dinner, Jessica slowly opened her eyes. Reaching for her phone, she saw the time was 7:34 PM.

Damn it.

Jessica groaned and slammed her palms on the bed. She took deep breaths to steady herself and curled into a ball on her side, pretending she could go back to bed. She could only hope, rather uselessly, that she would fall asleep again and wake up at a more reasonable time. Ashley gently knocked on their door about an hour later.

“Come in,” Jessica mumbled just loudly enough for her to hear. She sat up and turned to the door. Ashley poked her head in.

“Hey.” She walked in and pushed the door behind her, not quite closing it. “You weren’t at dinner, and Chloe’s pretty upset that you missed practice,” Ashley informed her, placing a plate with two slices of cheese pizza on the nightstand. Considering the Bella’s primary (only) chef wasn’t available, they opted to order out instead. Jessica winced.

“Sorry, I slept through them,” she apologised, taking a slice with shaking hands. “Why didn’t you come wake me up?”

“Well, no one said anything about you being gone until the end of practice-” Ashley rolled her eyes. “-and I figured you really needed the sleep.” She shook her head. “I can’t believe you stayed up so late.”

 _Neither can I_ , Jessica mentally retorted, taking another bite of her pizza.

“They want to have the meeting in a few minutes.” Jessica nodded. “How are you feeling?”

 _Beyond tired. Sore. Fucking stupid._ “I’m okay. I feel better after the nap.” Ashley nodded and kissed her cheek.

“Where is it?” Jessica pointed to the table.

“Some parts might not make sense,” she muttered.

“I’ll just look over it and fix it up, okay?” Jessica nodded.

“I’m going to the bathroom to clean up.” Ashley nodded back, already reading over the papers. Jessica silently headed out.

Once she reached the restroom, Jessica held her head in her hands again, closing her eyes. She felt a headache coming on (from lack of water? Staying up so late?) again. Sighing, she kept her head down for a few minutes, focusing on keeping her breathing even. _“I’m okay”_ , she mentally mocked before sighing again and filling up the water cup, gulping it down with an Advil like it was her lifeline. Turning back to the mirror, she sighed again. Robotically, she splashed water on her face and slapped on some concealer over her heavily bruised neck. Mostly satisfied with the result, she brushed her hair over the hickies, leaned back from the sink, and slowly made her way back to her and Ashley’s bedroom, not bothering to put any more effort into her appearance.

When she returned only slightly refreshed, she found Ashley grinning down at the preparations she wrote. “I can’t wait for the girls to see this,” she said excitedly, and Jessica managed a small smile. As if on cue, Chloe called for the final meeting. Ashley brought the papers with them and led them downstairs.

“Jessica, where were you?” Chloe immediately asked, her hands on her hips. “You missed practice.” Jessica ducked her head.

“I know. I’m really sorry.” Chloe stared expectantly, and Jessica shifted uncomfortably. “I took a nap, and I didn’t wake up in time for practice.”

“She’s been up doing homework all week,” Ashley interjected, and Jessica only slightly winced at the half-lie. Chloe was suddenly sympathetic.

“Yeesh. I’m sorry about that. Let us know if you need anything?” Jessica almost began laughing hysterically at the thought. After being ignored for two years, trying to redeem herself and Ashley, and literally losing sleep over the monumental task, the last thing she would do is let the other Bellas know if she was struggling. Part of her reasoned there was no point, as what was done was done, and she could relax after getting the mix out of her system, but another part of her, a more venomous part, sarcastically commented that the other girls probably wouldn’t care anyway, as she was sure they were aware they were keeping her and Ashley out of the general, non- _a capella_ loop.

As quickly as she could, she cut that thought off. It lingered, and she swallowed uncomfortably, more hysterical laughter bubbling up from her throat. But by the time she registered anything but her own thoughts, Chloe had walked to the centre of the room, and she unconsciously sat down next to Ashley on the couch.

“Okay, time for our official ICCA meeting,” Beca, surprisingly, started, standing beside Chloe. Everyone cheered. “So I already have a shit ton of mixes all ready to go, so I didn’t wanna make our next one.” With that blasé statement, she gestured blindly to the group, passing the metaphorical talking stick to the rest of the girls. Jessica couldn’t help but sigh from relief. One less set to compete with.

First up was Chloe, of course. “Okay, I know you said no Owl City,” she prefaced, and Stacie good-naturedly rolled her eyes. “But what about ‘The Shape of You’ and ‘Closer’?”

“That’s an interesting pick to go with Ed Sheeran,” Beca commented. “The Chainsmokers, right?”

“Mmhm!”

“What exactly were you thinking?”

“I think using ‘Closer’ to back the vocals of ‘Shape of You’ would be a good mix. The main rift of ‘Closer’ is just so good, and ‘Shape of You’ would have a good build-up to it.” The other girls nodded and made positive comments. Even Stacie seemed convinced – or, at least, more convinced than she had been earlier.

Jessica felt her sweat line her palms. She absent-mindedly wiped them on her pants and audibly swallowed. Ashley turned to her.

“What’s up?” she whispered. Jessica shook her head, and Ashley took her hand in hers, giving it a quick squeeze. Jessica felt no more comforted.

Cynthia-Rose was up. As she presented her idea of mixing “Terrified” by Childish Gambino and “Angels” by Chance the Rapper, Jessica was suddenly overcome with emotion. As the other girls nodded their approval at Cynthia-Rose’s idea – including Chloe, the good sport – she began wondering if they would do the same for hers. Cynthia-Rose was pitching well, and Jessica felt her chest tighten. Would the other girls think she did well? Or would they even remember her and Ashley’s turn? After all the work and the countless hours she put into filling out the idea so it was more than just a concept… What if they _did_ remember it and they thought it was terrible? Worst of all, what if Ashley was disappointed?

Jessica was dreading her turn.

No one else came forward with ideas, and Beca surveyed the group before stopping on Jessica and Ashley. Like a deer in headlights, Jessica froze. Ashley felt her girlfriend’s tenseness and turned to her. “Hey, don’t be scared,” she whispered quietly. “It’s just like a casual presentation. For a class, you know?” Ah. She thought Jessica was nervous. If only just that.

“Jessica? Ashley? What do you two have?” Beca asked. Jessica jumped in surprise as Ashley stood, tugging the blonde with her. The girls turned to them expectantly, and Ashley patiently waited for her girlfriend to begin speaking, having the papers at the ready for reference. Jessica turned from her, after receiving an encouraging nod, to the rest of the girls staring starkly at them. Her eyes darted amongst them. Stacie looked up from her nails to give her a subtle smile. She couldn’t tell if, in that moment, whether it was actually encouraging or solely sympathetic, as though she felt bad for the neglected girls.

Fat Amy, as usual, had an impassive expression on her face. In a moment of suspicion, Jessica thought the other girl wasn’t interested, possibly even bored. Flo was giving her a look she couldn’t decipher. She wondered if Cynthia-Rose, the next best mixer, would tell her everything she did wrong.

For the first time in years, Jessica couldn’t bring herself to smile. She couldn’t bring herself to shake off her doubts – the doubts she hadn’t thought about since she was in her first year of college – and she couldn’t find the positives of the situation. Her chest tightened unbearably. She was vaguely aware of herself thinking, but the thoughts twisted and turned in a mental flurry, preventing her from making heads or tails of herself. Simply put, she was losing it.

Fuck. _Fuck._

“U-um…” Jessica stuttered at last, staring at her feet.

“Honey?” Ashley gently put her hand on Jessica’s back, but the blonde impulsively buried her face in her hands “Jess?” As if she were trapped on an airplane, something was roaring in her ears, causing everyone’s voices around her sound muffled. Chloe furrowed her eyebrows whilst the rest of the girls watched on confusedly.

“Jessica, are you okay?” Chloe asked. Ashley slowly rubbed her back.

“Jess,” Ashley tried again. Jessica took a shuddering breath and shook her head.

“Do… Do you need water?” Beca tried, glancing back at everyone. Stacie stood and scurried to the kitchen.

Ashley was becoming frightened as the blonde remained unresponsive. “Jessica. Please, talk to me. What’s wrong?” Jessica tried to speak, tried to convince everyone that she was perfectly fine, but could only gasp. No matter how hard she tried forcing the words past her lips – “I’m fine” – she could only expel sharp breaths.

Belatedly, both Jessica and Ashley realised she was hyperventilating.

Suddenly aware of eight pairs of eyes on her and her girlfriend, Ashley froze. She should have been prepared, she’d known such a thing could have happened, she knew for a year, yet being in front of everyone, watching her girlfriend panic to levels past her own comprehension, she fucking couldn’t do it, she dropped the ball, she had no idea how to help, fuck, fuck, she thought everything would be okay-

Jessica could hear the redhead. She willed herself to respond somehow, begging her body to let her take control again. She strained to just say something or move something – _something_ – but every part of her body was weighed down as if made from lead. She managed a choked sob upon realising she couldn’t even begin to move her fingers despite being hyperaware of their existence. Ashley snapped her mouth shut and simply held Jessica by the shoulders at arm’s length. By then, some of the other girls stood whilst the rest and watched on, concerned.

“What do we do?” Cynthia-Rose asked, but Beca shushed her gently with the same words Chloe used.

Stacie appeared with the water, passing it over to Beca who handed it to Ashley. She held it under Jessica’s hands, but the girl wasn’t taking the cup. Ashley turned to the girls helplessly, almost at the brink of tears.

“Sit her down,” Stacie instructed, and they led Jessica to the couch where the girls immediately cleared a space for her. Ashley sat beside her, having managed to take one of Jessica’s hands. The blonde was squeezing it with an ironclad grasp. Stacie knelt in front of her.

“Jessica, can you hear me?” she asked with measured words. Jessica gasped and began trembling. Stacie quickly grabbed her shoulders. “It’s okay if you can’t respond. Are you having a panic attack?”

 _Oh god, someone knows_ , Jessica found herself thinking, though she couldn’t tell if it was out of relief or shame. When she tried replying, she let out a whimper instead, and Stacie laid a hand on her forearm. “It’s okay, hon. We’re right here for you, okay? Me and Ashley and all of the other Bellas. You’re safe here.”

 _Oh, Ashley_ , Jessica bemoaned, her slowly returning ability to function properly seeming to slip from her grasp again. Stacie’s grip tightened as she and the other girls realised Jessica’s breath was speeding up again. _Oh my god. Ashley. Oh my god. Ohhh my god. Oh my god, oh my god…_

“Jessica, can you hear me?” Upon receiving no response, Stacie turned to Ashley. “Can you try saying something?” Ashley’s eyes widened, and she swallowed, her throat suddenly dry. Beca picked upon the atmosphere and ran to grab a separate cup of water for Ashley. “It’s okay. Just try talking to her.”  _Talk to her..._ Ashley licked her lip and, when Beca returned, took the glass and sucked down the water. Sighing, she nodded slowly and turned to her girlfriend.

“Jessica,” she said deliberately, focusing on retaining her own stable breathing. _Keep calm. Keep calm for her._ “Jessica, you’re safe here. Both Stacie and I promise it. We’ll wait as long as you need us to, okay? We’re not leaving.” Ashley tentatively raised her trembling hand and set it at the top of Jessica’s spine as lightly as she could. The girl flinched and gasped when she made contact, but Jessica’s breathing seemed to progressively begin to subside. With careful, measured strokes, Ashley moved her hand in patterns along Jessica’s back. Stacie began brushing her thumb along the inside of Jessica’s arm as well. Jessica hunched forward and focused on the physical sensations, concentrating on grounding herself and separating herself from her thoughts.

“I love you, Jessica,” Ashley whispered with a cracked voice, feeling a level of helplessness she never could have imagined. _And here I thought I could do it_ , Ashley thought, sickened to her stomach.

“We’re going to get through this, okay?” Stacie said, moving her hand down to grip Jessica’s. To Ashley and Stacie’s relief, the girl managed to nod, and the room waited in a heavy silence as her breathing gradually began evening out to slow, deep gasps. Stacie nodded at Ashley, and they began pushing Jessica back up.

“I want you to drink water, okay?” The two girls gently pulled Jessica’s hands from her face with minimal resistance. Ashley’s heart broke at the sight of the usually perky girl’s red eyes and tear-stained cheeks. For fuck's sake, their year of dating should have prepared her for whatever was happening, and she felt ashamed at her uselessness. Cynthia-Rose ran for tissues.

Stacie gently guided Jessica’s hands to the cup, and the girl finally managed to respond by taking the water, spilling a good portion as her hands shook. She exhaled loudly, seeming to be breathing normally again, before bringing the cup to her lips to sip on it. Swallowing, she finished what little remained before setting it on the table.

“Jessica?” Chloe ventured as though the other girl would suddenly crumple to the ground.

Jessica certainly felt that way.

She tried to turn to Ashley but couldn’t bring herself to make eye contact with her girlfriend. Instead, she stared at her feet before whispering out a hoarse, “I’m sorry

 _What?_ After all of that, her first words were an apology? “Shush,” Ashley instantly replied, having found her voice again. “Never be sorry for something like that. I’m just… so relieved now.” Ashley shook her head and pulling Jessica against her side. Jessica leaned against her chest with her eyes closed.

“What just happened?” Beca muttered, staring in shock.

“Panic attack. Are you okay now?” Stacie asked. The blonde sniffed as Cynthia-Rose handed her tissues and nodded. She began cleaning herself up, and Ashley squeezed her shoulder

“We were really worried there,” Fat Amy put in, and the rest of the girls chorused in agreement.

“Do you want to talk about it?” Stacie asked gently. Ashley watched Jessica closely, but she shook her head.

“Do you know something?” Beca asked Ashley. Ashley frowned, thinking back on the week. Well, she hadn’t mentioned anything about the ‘incident’, so she was sure nothing triggered that. Otherwise, though, Jessica _had_ been acting unbelievably strangely – going to bed at odd hours, acting distant and snappy, being so focused on-

Suddenly, realisation slapped her in the face. _Of course. Of_ fucking _course._ The lack of sleep, the irritability, the pure stress… Her girlfriend, her happy and positive girlfriend, finally broke under it all in a way Ashley hoped she would have never had to see. And it was all her fault.

Her eyes widened.

“What is it?” Chloe pressed, having leaned down to put her hand on Jessica’s free one. Stacie raised an eyebrow at Ashley, and the girl, though surprised at the unexpected yet evident friendship between the tall brunette and her girlfriend, swallowed nervously. Clearly, Stacie was ready to pull no punches if she felt it necessary.

“I…” Ashley took a deep breath. _FUCK._ “I put a lot of pressure on her this week.” She stared at the blonde. To her relief, Jessica finally looked back at her. After all the trouble for some stupid bitterness or a desire to be noticed or whatever, Ashley hated herself. Her blind… fury(?) lead to her girlfriend’s absolute breakdown in front of everyone. Yet all she could see in Jessica’s eyes was pure, unadulterated love under her uncharacteristic sadness and tiredness. Ashley had to turn away. “I asked a lot from her – like, hours and hours of work that I didn’t really even help with – to help my _own_ insecurities.” She shook her head and stared at her hands. A few drips of her own tears fell on her knees. “She hasn’t been sleeping or eating right because she hasn’t had time. She’s had a week full of school assignments, but she’s been hel-” Ashley sniffed, and Cynthia-Rose handed her a spare tissue. “-helping me instead. Because, you know, that’s just how she is.” Stacie slowly nodded.

“Insecurities about what?” Chloe asked with a sinking feeling as she began piecing together the duo’s behaviours for the past week. She’d noticed Ashley seemed colder than usual, and Jessica seemed to be almost literally dragging herself around as she continued with her daily chores.

“Ashley-” Jessica finally attempted to interject weakly, looking up at her. Ashley raised a finger.

“No, it’s okay. I- I’m an idiot.” Turning back to the group, she breathed in deeply again. “I… really wanted to make a mind-blowing mix s-so you guys would just _remember_ us. I k-kept talking about how I was worried you guys would, I dunno, forget about us again or tease us, especially a-after all that went into this.” Stacie’s gaze in particular softened, and she and the girls suddenly avoided eye contact with the brunette, turning away guiltily and shifting uncomfortable.

“I didn’t want us to have just a few ideas; I wanted us to basically have a finished product.” She looked back at Jessica. “And that wasn’t fair to you at all, sweetheart. I was expecting and hoping for a lot for my own insecurities when _you_ were putting everything together _and_ feeling the pressure from me and the rest of the Bellas. So I’m sorry, Jessica. I’m so sorry.” With that, she silently pulled the blonde onto her lap and simply enveloped her.

“I would never have worked so hard if it wasn’t for you,” Jessica whispered with a stilted voice, and Ashley’s heart completely broke. Even after probably one of the worst weeks of her life ending in a full-blown panic attack, she still bounced back saw the beauty in everything. She _still_ found a way to be positive.

“I can’t believe I did this to you,” was all she could whisper back.

The rest of the girls watched on silently. Chloe and Beca exchanged glances, and Beca nodded. With a deep breath, Chloe squeezed Jessica’s hand. “Ashley? Jessica?” The two girls turned their attention to her. The redhead pulled back to begin wringing her hands, staring guiltily at her feet. With a sigh, she looked between them. “On behalf of everyone here… I want to apologise.

“You’re right. We’ve been awful teammates to you two for the past two years. We never fully let you in, joking that we didn’t know who was who. To be honest… I don’t know anything about either of you, and I’m so sorry for never reaching out. I never knew it got to this, though. We never should have let this happen, and…” Chloe’s voice broke, her eyes glistening. “I’m so, so sorry you two felt so excluded.” The rest of the girls began murmuring similar apologies with bowed heads.

“I’ve been a terrible friend,” Stacie murmured lowly so only Jessica would hear. She shook her head.

“You helped me during one of the darkest parts of my life and helped me find the most wonderful woman in the world. I can’t thank you enough,” she murmured back, and Stacie put her head in her hands. Ashley simply hugged Jessica tighter and kissed her temple. Tears began running down their cheeks again. Regardless, Ashley never stopped holding her nor rubbing her back, placing kisses to her head periodically.

Chloe’s eyes watered. Stacie held Jessica’s hand tightly in hers. Flo and Fat Amy played with seams on their shirts. Cynthia-Rose looked torn between reaching out to the blonde as well and standing back and letting the girls closer to her continue their comforting. Lilly’s eyes were downcast. Beca was staring at her feet, biting the inside of her cheek, before turning to Chloe. The redhead, feeling Beca’s eyes on her, met her gaze and nodded almost imperceptibly. With a deep breath, Beca made her way over to Jessica as Chloe backed off.

“Hey,” she said softly, bending down to reach out and touch Jessica’s shoulder. The blonde swallowed and turned to her. “Why don’t you tell us about this awesome mix?” Smiling, she squeezed her shoulder. “I’m stoked to see what you two came up with.”

“It was all her,” Ashley said quickly, putting one of her hands up. Jessica raised her head to look at her.

“You gave me the songs…” she whispered through a cracked voice.

“And you worked you magic on them.” Jessica looked down, but Ashley gripped her chin and coaxed her head back up. “You’re amazing, you know.” She kissed Jessica’s forehead, and Jessica bit her lip.

“You’re both really important to the group, you know,” Flo finally added. “ _Both_ of you. We wouldn’t have ‘our sound’ without you.” The rest of the girls began nodding.

“And I’ve never met someone who knows _a capella_ so much,” Cynthia-Rose jumped in. “Like, damn girl.  You know your stuff.” Jessica managed to crack a smile.

“You bring me joy,” Lilly murmured monotonously with a rare smile on her face.

“You’re just two of the twig bitches I love,” Fat Amy said. Chloe resisted the urge to roll her eyes and instead smiled encouragingly down at Jessica and Ashley.

“We’d love to hear what you made,” she said softly. Jessica and Ashley, completely bewildered, exchanged looks. In Ashley’s eyes, Jessica could see two years’ worth of wariness and tense aggravation slowly disintegrate to confusion and hope. In Jessica’s eyes, Ashley could see a week’s worth of exhaustion and self-doubt make way for gentle excitement and love.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” Ashley heard herself whisper, bringing a hand up to cup Jessica’s cheek. Jessica set her free hand on top of Ashley’s.

“Yes. I promise. I love you, Ashley.”

“I love you too. And I promise I’ll make it up to you.” Jessica opened her mouth to protest, but Ashley cut her off with a pointed look. “I promise. I don’t care what happens, but we are never going through anything like that ever again. _You_ are never going through that ever again. Understood?” Jessica nodded mutely, and Ashley pressed a kiss to her cheek.

With another reassuring squeeze from both Beca and Stacie, Jessica, swallowing, slowly nodded before staring at the Bellas – her family.

“Okay…” She cleared her throat. “But it’s super rough…” Beca nodded comfortingly, and the rest of the Bellas ostentatiously moved closer with rapt attention. Jessica turned all the way in Ashley’s arms, her hands over Ashley’s as the brunette held her by the waist. With a deep breath, Jessica slowly began outlining her and Ashley’s idea. She listed off the songs and her thoughts on how the songs could mesh together, devolved into the way she broke them down individually with an idea of who would take what role, and even offered her considerations on choreography. Every so often, she stuttered and fell flat only to be gently encouraged by one of the other girls.

Finally, she stopped. “And, um… that’s it, really.” The girls stared at her in awe at the blonde’s clear attention to detail, completely contrasting what they saw as air-headedness from her. Yet, recalling her behaviour over the past year, they _did_ begin seeing patterns in her gently toned down but still present enthusiasm, her quick-witted comments and outstanding musical knowledge rivalling even Beca, Chloe, and Aubrey at times, and her hardworking nature when it came to the group. The guilt became a bit more intense.

Then they looked to Ashley, the girl who joined the group on her good singing with absolutely no prior formal training. She had stayed for the year even through Aubrey’s intense training to become a well-versed percussionist. Her desire to learn, to improve, and to grow greatly overshadowed her inexperience, and soon she was easily holding her own within the group. As though physically hit by the proverbial nail in the coffin, the girls bowed their heads in shame again.

Meanwhile, Beca stared off into space, the sound of the gears in her head turning filling the room. With such a great layout from the duo, she could _hear_ the mix clearly, calling to her; she was only too ready to bring it into existence. Returning to the physical realm, she suddenly smiled.

“I love it,” she said simply. The rest of the girls broke from their haze and began talking and nodding amongst themselves before they looked to Chloe, then Beca. Still smiling, Beca stood and somewhat awkwardly held Jessica’s bicep. She gave it a squeeze.

“Let’s do it.” Jessica stared at her blankly before registering her words, and a week’s worth of hell finally slipped from her shoulders. With tears at the edges of her eyes, she grinned broadly, and Ashley beamed at her before kissing her cheek. Slowly rebuilding herself, Jessica giggled, and she and Ashley cheered with the other girls.

In the coming weeks, the Bellas worked tirelessly to perfect the mix. With the full support of Chloe and the gentle but pertinent suggestions of Jessica, Beca weaved the three songs to fit Ashley and Jessica’s vision perfectly. Once the finished product was presented, the rest of the Bellas applauded and instantly showered the three girls with praise.

Following, Chloe began helping Jessica finalise the girls’ roles, carefully picking apart each song as best they could with the help of Beca’s mixing software. Once satisfied, Chloe assigned each girl their individual part, and the Bellas took the time to feel out the mashup, adjusting certain backing vocals to fit the limitations of _a capella_. Once adequately prepared, but not quite polished, Stacie and Flo started their collaboration in choreography. They happily noted that the song blended energic, fast-paced synthesisers with periods of calmer beats and stripped-down vocals, allowing for a dynamic and interesting dance routine.

To tighten any loose ends, Stacie even sent the mix and an _a capella_ demo, including a dance rehearsal, to Aubrey for her professional opinion. Aubrey quickly responded with a host of proposals to ease the vocal effort whilst retaining the clean sound and told Stacie to tell Jessica and Ashley that she was very proud of their growth.

Due to the complex layering, Lilly typically disappeared for hours on end only to return home casually yet proficiently beatboxing her parts. Cynthia-Rose found her place in keeping the vitality of the piece with her powerful soul voice. And Fat Amy, in an effort to show her undying kindness, frequently complimented Ashley and Jessica (“how’s it going?!”, “Fat Amy is ready for this remix!”, “let’s rock this, bitches!”).

ICCA’s couldn’t come faster.

Standing side-by-side, Jessica and Ashley exchanged small smiles. Ashley reached over to give her girlfriend’s hand a quick squeeze before Chloe whispered, “It’s our time. Let’s kill it!” The rest of the girls whooped before running out on stage in their starting positions. The audience quickly quelled in excitement at the sight of the popular ladies’ group. Taking a deep breath, Beca slowly counted them off. Stacie began playing the part of a xylophone.

“ _Lying on a fake beach… You’ll never get a tan…_ ”

As Ashley began singing “Radioactive”, her first ever solo, she couldn’t contain her grin. What made her smile shine brightly with complete and utter happiness was when Jessica, her girlfriend too incredible to describe, quickly joined in with “Symphony”. Soon the other girls began joining in as the song began escalating with Jessica and Ashley’s full duet beginning. Beca’s voice broke through with “Tear in My Heart”, and the Bellas, singing their hearts, carried the audience with their boundless energy until Ashley closed the song out.

“ _My, heart, is nuclear… Love, is, all that I feel…_ ” Ashley slowly lowered her microphone as the crowd’s applause overwhelmed her. Before she could comprehend anything else, she felt the rest of the girls run up to her and grab her, laughing. Fat Amy ruffled her hair, Chloe gave her the tightest hug she’d ever received from the redhead, and she pulled Jessica in for a quick but passionate kiss.

“We did it, sweetie,” Jessica whispered, pulling her close and pressing her lips to Ashley’s neck.

“ _You_ did,” Ashley tried, chuckling and gently trying to pry Jessica off her. Instead, the blonde shook her head.

“You’re the one who pushed me. You gave me so many ideas, I didn’t know how to begin. You inspired me with your passion just to make something incredible. I couldn’t have done this without you.” She gazed into Ashley’s eyes, her own watering. “This is a dream come true, and we both made it happen.” Ashley sighed.

“Still as wonderful and loving and thoughtful and amazing as always, aren’t you? I still promise to never do that again,” Ashley teased. “Inspiration or not, that doesn’t give me an excuse to almost send you over the edge.”

“You’re my girlfriend. You were bound do that at least once,” Jessica retorted with a grin. Ashley shot her a weak glare. “Too soon?”

“Always,” she mumbled. Jessica smiled sheepishly and pecked her on the lips. Ashley sniffed and pulled Jessica back again before the other girls carefully herded them backstage for a group hug. And surrounded by the Barden Bellas, their non-blood sisters for the past two years, each and every one of them congratulating the duo and openly appreciating them and even deciding to celebrate them, regardless of whether or not they won, Ashley and Jessica could not feel more loved.

 


	7. Pure Love

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Songs used: "Skinny Love" by Bon Iver (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=95FyXUHv8hk)  
> "Ho Hey" by The Lumineers (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C4DD7r4E9L8)  
> "Riptide" by Vance Joy (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MsTWpbR_TVE)  
> "Riptide/Skinny Love/Ho Hey (Vance Joy, Bon Iver, Lumineers Mash-Up)" by Louisa Wendorff (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SUFTviF7vpM)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Jessica Smith, Ashley Jones; Jessley  
> Beca Mitchell, Chloe Beale; Bechloe  
> Fat Amy  
> Stacie Conrad, Aubrey Posen; Staubrey  
> Cynthia-Rose Adams  
> Lilly Onakurama  
> Florencia 'Flo' Fuentes  
> Emily Junk

“ _Come on skinny love, just last the year…_ ” Jessica sang softly to herself, washing a plate. “ _Pour a little salt, we were never here…_ ” Sunlight shining through the kitchen window illuminated her face and gave her hair a radiant effect. “ _My, my, my… My, my, my… My, my…_ ” Setting it in the dishwasher delicately, she rubbed her forearm against her forehead, never breaking song. “ _Staring at the sink of blood and crushed veneer…_ ” Looking over her shoulder, she saw the water in the pot on the stove begin to bubble and smiled to herself.

“ _I tell my love to wreck it all…_ ” She opened up the box of linguine and pulled out most of the strands “ _Cut out all the ropes and let me fall…_ ” She broke the pile and gently dumped them in the pot. “ _My, my, my… My, my, my… My, my…_ ” Taking the nearby wooden spoon, she stirred around the pasta before placing the lid on it and turning down the heat. “ _Right in the moment, this order’s tall…_ ”

Turning to the other pot on the stove, she opened up the lid to see her sauce sitting peacefully on low heat. “ _And I told you to be patient…_ ” Smiling, she took a metal spoon and dipped it inside, taking a taste. Humming, she reached for the parsley and continued. “ _And I told you to be fine…_ ” Sprinkling some of the herb, she set the container down and reached for the basil. “ _And I told you to balanced… And I told you to be kind…_ ” She tore up the basil and set it inside before taking the same wooden spoon and swirling the mixture around. “ _And in the morning I’ll be with you… But it will be a different ‘kind’…_ ” After a few stirs, she paused to take another taste. “ _And I’ll be holding all the tickets… And you’ll be owning all the fines…_ ” Very much pleased, she set the spoon down on its rest on the counter, put the top back on the pot, and returned to the sink.

“ _Come on, skinny love, what happened here?_ ” She grew louder. “ _Suckle on my hope in light brassieres…_ ” She began rinsing off a bowl. “ _My, my, my… My, my, my… My, my…_ ” It clinked in the dishwasher when she placed it beside the plate. “ _Sullen load is full, so slow on the split..._ ”

“ _And I told you to be patient..._ ” Jessica’s head whipped around, and she found Ashley smiling in the doorway. “ _And I told you to be fine…_ ” She absent-mindedly wiped her hands on her jeans and turned around fully as Ashley slowly began approaching.

“ _And I told you to be balanced…_ ” Jessica responded. “ _And I told you to be kind…_ ” Ashley rested her hands on Jessica’s hips.

“ _And now all your love is wasted…_ ” they harmonised. “ _And then who the hell was I…?_ ” Jessica responded by placing her hands on Ashley’s neck. “ _And I’m breaking at the britches…_ ” Jessica lightly pulled Ashley towards her. “ _And at the end of all your lines…_ ” The two girls gently rested their foreheads against each other.

“ _Who will love you…?_ ” Their eyes slid closed. “ _Who will fight…?_ ” Their voices fell to whispers. “ _Who will fall far behind…?”_ The couple remained still, listening only to the sound of their breathing and gentle boiling of the pasta. Eventually, Ashley moved her arms between Jessica’s waist and the sink, pulling her closer, and Jessica immediately wrapped her arms tighter around Ashley. She sighed happily, pressing her face against the crook of Ashley’s neck. Ashley swallowed.

“I hope you weren’t singing that about me,” she finally whispered, kissing Jessica’s temple. Jessica laughed softly, pulling back.

“Our love is, by no means, skinny,” she promised, gently pressing a kiss to Ashley’s lips. The girl hummed delightedly and pulled her girlfriend closer.

“Certainly not if you keep cooking like this for us,” she teased, kissing Jessica’s neck. Jessica only smiled, running a hand along Ashley’s collarbone. For a few more heartbeats, they stood unmoving before Ashley took Jessica’s lips in hers again. They moved against each other slowly, Jessica’s fingers tracing patterns on Ashley’s chest and Ashley’s fingers, buried in Jessica’s hair, gently combing through her blonde locks. When Jessica sighed happily into Ashley’s mouth, the brunette carefully pulled away and dropped her hand back to Jessica’s waist, pulling the girl flush against her.

“Jessica?” The girl in question hummed and tilted her head, her content smile never leaving her face. Ashley’s dark gaze bore into her. “I will love you, I will fight for you, and I will _never_ -” Ashley kissed her again. “-fall behind.”

“No, you won’t,” Jessica whispered, shaking her head. “You’ll be right beside me, where you belong.” She hugged Ashley tighter, and Ashley matched her smile. “I love you so much.” She sighed again happily.

“I love you too,” Ashley whispered in return. She leaned forward, and the two shared another gentle, languorous kiss. When Jessica pulled back, she smiled and gently set her hands on Ashley’s, coaxing them off her waist.

“Lunch,” she murmured, carefully slipping out of her girlfriend’s grasp. Ashley pouted but acquiesced, letting her fingertips trail down the girl’s arms. She hung back at the sink and staring dreamily at her lover.

_Right beside her… where I belong…_

* * *

 

“ _Ho!_ Chloe jumped with her arms up, a broad smile stretched across her face. “ _Hey!_ _Ho!_ ” She bounded to her desk chair and glanced down at her homework lying on her desk. “ _Hey!_ ” She sat down just long enough to read a line in her textbook and begin scribbling an answer to the question on the paper beside it. “ _Ho!_ _I’ve been trying to do it right…_ ” The redhead bounced up halfway through the sentence to do a quick twirl. “ _Hey! I’ve been living a lonely life…_ ” She held her pencil up to her lips as a faux microphone. “ _Ho! I’ve been sleeping here instead…_ ” She plopped back in her chair. “ _Hey! I’ve been sleeping in my bed…_ ” She finished writing, and, satisfied, closed the textbook. “ _Ho! Sleeping in my bed… Hey!_ ” She jumped onto her own bed, giggling at the irony. “ _Ho!_ ”

“ _Ho!_ ” She laid back and grinned at the ceiling. “ _So show my family… Hey!_ _All the blood that I would bleed… Ho!_ ” She tossed the pencil at her desk where it bounced off the wall and onto the floor. “ _I don’t know where I belong… Hey!_ ” She sat up and immediately jumped back to her feet. “ _I don’t know where I went wrong… Ho!_ ”

“ _But I can write a song…_ ” a voice interrupted. Chloe gasped and turned around to see Beca standing in the doorway with her arms crossed.

“ _Hey!_ ” she teased with a wave. The brunette rolled her eyes and smiled. Chloe bounded over to take Beca’s hands in her own. “ _I belong with you, you belong with me, you’re my sweetheart…_ ” She pulled Beca up and down, bobbing to her own song.

Beca chuckled and sang back. “ _I belong with you, you belong with me, you’re my sweet…_ ” Chloe abruptly pulled her close until they were nose-to-nose.

“ _Ho!_ ” Beca smiled and laughed.

“ _Hey!_ ” Chloe pushed herself back, still keeping her grip on Beca’s hands.

“ _Ho!_ ” Beca pulled the redhead back.

“ _Hey!_ ” Chloe bent down and placed a quick kiss on Beca’s cheek.

“ _Ho!_ ” Beca blushed lightly and leaned back to begin her next verse.

“ _I don’t think you’re right for him..._ ” Chloe stuck her tongue out.

“ _Hey!_ ” Beca winked with a grin.

“ _Look at what it might have been if you’d…_ ”

“ _Ho!_ ”

“ _Took a bus to China Town…_ ” Chloe laughed.

“ _Hey!_ ” Beca tugged on Chloe’s hands.

 “ _I’d be standing on Canal…_ ” Beca took her turn to peck Chloe on the cheek. Chloe blushed delightedly.

“ _Ho!_ ”

 _“And Browery…_ ”

“ _Hey!_ ” Chloe rested her forehead against Beca’s until she pulled away, never unlinking her fingers from Beca’s. “ _Ho!_ ”

“ _And she’d be standing next to me…_ ” Beca’s grinned mirrored Chloe’s wide smile.

“ _Hey!_ ” Chloe began jumping, raising hers and Beca’s arms, and Beca shook her head and followed suit in her dancing. “ _I belong with you, you belong with me, you’re my sweetheart…_ ” Chloe pulled Beca’s arms back.

“ _I belong with you, you belong with me, you’re my sweetheart…_ ” Chloe slowed down, pulling back from her girlfriend whilst keeping their fingers interlocked.

“ _Love, we need it now_ …” Chloe sang, twirling herself in Beca’s arms.

“ _Let’s hope for some…_ ” Beca pulled Chloe against her chest, wrapping her arms around her. Chloe giggled and spun out as they sang the next words together.

“ _‘Cause, oh, we’re bleeding out…_ ” The two girls paused.

“ _I belong with you, you belong with me, you’re my sweetheart…_ ” Suddenly, they burst into laughter, barely making it through the last bit of the song. “ _I belong with you, you belong with me, you’re my sweet…_ ”

“ _Ho!_ ” Chloe threw her arms around Beca and pulled her down on the bed.

“ _Hey!_ ” Chloe shook her head and pressed her lips to the brunette before they both had to pull away and dissolve into more giggles.

 _(Ho! Hey!_ )

* * *

 

Aubrey silently stepped inside the lodge and peeked around the door. Standing in front of one of the windows was Stacie, staring out at the forest. Smiling wistfully to herself, Aubrey stared for a few heartbeats at her girlfriend, who looked absolutely heavenly in the warm lighting, before opening her mouth and making herself known as a song suddenly came to mind.

“ _I was scared of dentists and the dark…_ ” Stacie looked behind her. “ _I was scared of pretty girls and starting conversations…_ ” She chuckled and turned around fully, leaning against the windowsill. “ _Oh, all my friends are turning green…_ ” Aubrey held her hand out to her. “ _You’re the magician’s assistant in their dream…_ ”

“ _Ooh…_ ” Stacie sang, beckoning Aubrey closer with a finger.

“ _Oh, and they come unstuck…_ ” Aubrey approached the brunette and gently took her left hand in between her own hands. “ _Lady, running down to the riptide… Taken away to the dark side… I wanna be your left-hand man…_ ” Stacie smiled and pulled Aubrey closer. “ _I love you, when you’re singing that song and… I got a lump in my throat ‘cause… You’re gonna sing the words wrong…_ ” Stacie placed her free hand on the small of Aubrey’s back and pulled her flush against her chest.

“ _There’s this movie that I think you’ll like…_ ” she sang in return. “ _This guy decides to quit his job and heads to New York City…_ ” She winked, and Aubrey giggled good-naturedly. “ _This cowboy’s running from himself…_ ” Stacie leaned down to whisper in Aubrey’s ear. “ _And she’s been living on the highest shelf…_ ”

“ _Ooh…_ ” Aubrey shuddered lightly as Stacie’s breath tickled her.

“ _Oh, and they come unstuck…_ ” The brunette pulled back and cupped Aubrey’s cheek. “ _Lady, running down to the riptide… Taken away to the dark side… I wanna be your left-hand man…_ ” Aubrey tangled their fingers together. _“I love you, when you’re singing that song and… I got a lump in my throat ‘cause… You’re gonna sing the words wrong…_ ”

“ _I just wanna, I just wanna know…_ ” Aubrey began, and Stacie’s grin grew softer.

“ _If you’re gonna, if you’re gonna stay…_ ” Stacie replied, resting her hand against the small of Aubrey’s back and gently tracing circles on her shirt.

“ _I just gotta. I just gotta know…_ ” The blonde brought her left hand up to Stacie’s cheek to gently run her thumb against the smooth skin.

“ _I can’t have it, I can’t have it any other way…_ ” Their faces slowly gave way to bright grins, and they harmonised the next words.

“ _I swear she’s destined for the screen… Closest thing to Michelle Pfeiffer that you’ve ever seen, oh._ ” Aubrey tightened her grasp on Stacie’s hand as they continued.

“ _Lady, running down to the riptide… Taken away to the dark side… I wanna be your left-hand man…_ ” Stacie gently pushed the girl back to spin her. “ _I love you, when you’re singing that song and… I got a lump in my throat ‘cause… You’re gonna sing the words wrong…_ ”  Aubrey smiled up at her lover.

“ _Oh lady, running down to the riptide… Taken away to the dark side… I wanna be your left-hand man…_ ” They giggled and gently knocked heads on Aubrey’s return trip before the girl pulled her hand away completely and wrapped her arms around Stacie’s neck. “ _I love you, when you’re singing that song and… I got a lump in my throat ‘cause… You’re gonna sing the words wrong, and… I got a lump in my throat ‘cause… You’re gonna sing the words wrong…_ ” Stacie held her tightly, smiling as Aubrey found her place against the crook of Stacie’s neck, and they stayed in silence.

“You know,” Stacie finally said, “You can be my left-hand man _any_ day as long as you keep using your left hand _on_ me.” Aubrey leaned back to laugh and roll her eyes.

“You’re the worst!” she chastised, gently smacking Stacie’s collarbone. “And I wouldn’t have it any other way.” She smiled up at the girl affectionately, and they shared a brief kiss. With a wistful grin, Aubrey cocked her herad, and Stacie eyed her curiously for a few heartbeats. Aubrey swallowed and finally ventured, “How would you feel about me… putting a ring on that left hand one day?” Stacie’s eyes widened.

“Are you asking me…?” Aubrey shook her head quickly.

“Not now! But… maybe one day?” Stacie stared back in silence just long enough to make the blonde nervous before taking Aubrey’s left hand in her own and gently kissing its back with a wink.

“Trying to tame the Hunter?” Aubrey rolled her eyes again. Stacie chuckled and dropped her voice to whisper. “Maybe that wouldn’t be so bad.” Aubrey brightened and the two melted against each other in a deep kiss before Stacie broke apart to move towards the door. “Home?” she asked with a tug. Aubrey smiled and let herself be pulled.

_Home._

* * *

 

“Jessica, thank you so much again for an amazing lunch,” Chloe gushed, leaning into Beca’s side with a bowl of spaghetti in her hands. Jessica smiled back as the rest of the group resonated the praise. The Bellas were sitting on a large towel under a few trees, having a picnic of sorts. Jessica sat near the bowl of spaghetti, serving everyone’s portions, whilst Ashley gave out her own simple salad to the willing participants. Leaning against the traditional basket were a few bottles of water and wine.

“I’ll cook tonight,” Aubrey offered, sitting between Stacie’s legs and leaning against her front. She stirred her Merlot as the brunette took a sip from her own. “I’m a little rusty, but I think I could make us a tasty soup.”

“Thank you, Aubrey,” Jessica replied. Ashley leaned to kiss the top of her head, and the blonde smiled widely.

“Y’all are too mushy for me,” Cynthia-Rose teased.

“I know. It’s disgusting,” Flo muttered with a smirk, not so subtly taking a large gulp of her own wine.

“What?! Flo, love is so beautiful!” Emily gushed.

“We know you think so,” Fat Amy retorted. “Benji,” she ‘coughed’, causing the young girl to burn red. Beca shot the blonde a look, and Chloe turned to Aubrey.

“How was your trip down here?” she asked quickly, pouring herself another glass of wine. Beca eyed her warily and took the bottle when the redhead was done.

“I’m cutting you off,” she announced before Aubrey could reply. Chloe gaped.

“Aca-scuse me?!” Stacie groaned loudly, and Aubrey gently elbowed her in the ribs. “Beca!”

“No, I agree,” Aubrey deadpanned. “You’re lucky we even let you have two glasses.”

“What?!” Chloe cried indignantly.

“You’re a lightweight, honey,” Beca retorted. “The only people here worse than you are Jessica and Emily, and that’s because they don’t drink.” As if to emphasise Beca’s point, Jessica sipped from her bottle of water and Emily bobbed her head.

“I am not a lightweight!” Chloe protested, pouting. Aubrey raised an eyebrow.

“So you were completely and utterly sober after your _third_ glass of wine when I had to physically restrain you from drunk texting Beca ‘Beca I’m going to be the bigger person here and tell you I want you inside me’ one night after practice?”

…

Flo spat her drink out, Emily squeaked with her face redder than she ever thought possible, Ashley’s jaw dropped, Jessica quickly began blushing brightly as well, Fat Amy scoffed loudly, Cynthia-Rose whooped, and Stacie wolf-whistled.

And Beca…

Beca stared at Chloe blankly as Chloe’s face quickly began to blend in with her hair.

An unimpressed Aubrey continued.

“And you were completely and utterly sober when you attempted to correct yourself to ‘I want to lovingly bend you over and loving fuck the shit out of you’?” The girls’ reactions only magnified as Chloe screamed.

“OKAY AUBREY, I GET IT. SHUT THE FUCK UP!” Ashley winced at the high-pitched screech.

“Daaamn girl, you ‘bout to give Stacie here a run for her money,” Cynthia-Rose said, nodding appreciatively. Chloe turned her ice blue eyes to glare at Cynthia-Rose, but the girl only smirked.

“I was never even that direct with Aubrey. Good one,” Stacie agreed, also smirking when Chloe glowered at her.

“Three glasses of wine? Really?” Fat Amy questioned, also waving off Chloe’s attempt at being intimidating.

“Aubrey Posen, you traitor,” Chloe seethed, gulping down her wine. Aubrey simply shrugged. “You promised me you’d never tell!”

“I did no such thing,” Aubrey replied, scoffing.

“I think you broke Beca,” Ashley managed to cut in before pouring herself more wine. Ignoring Jessica’s frown, she took a large swig of it. She let a quiet noise of protest when Jessica moved the bottle further away from them, and Flo delightedly took the rest for herself.

Chloe and Aubrey turned to see the small brunette staring unwaveringly at Chloe, her dark eyes wide and her mouth hanging open. Aubrey raised her eyebrow at Chloe whilst sipping her drink as the redhead downed her glass of wine. “I’m fairly certain that can only make things worse,” she noted. Chloe glared daggers at her before Amy reached over and beat Beca on the back, breaking the brunette out of her stupor. “Solve this on your own time,” Aubrey continued when she watched Beca open her mouth. The girl in question stopped, turned to Aubrey like a confused puppy, turned back to her girlfriend, then sat back and said nothing.

Flo whistled lowly under her breath, Lilly nodded in pure respect, and Stacie smirked, pressing a kiss to Aubrey’s temple.

“…so how _was_ your trip down here?” Jessica asked Aubrey meekly after a pause. The former captain smiled warmly at the other blonde, all traces of annoyance dissipated.

“Wonderful. I’m so happy to be here with you guys for a few days.” Stacie smiled and kissed her cheek.

“What did you do today?”

“Just made sure the camp was all cleaned up before heading down here. What about you?”

“Oh, just some chores because I didn’t have to go to work today and all of my school stuff is done for until graduation!” Ashley turned to stare at her.

“You cleaned the house because you had a day off?”

“Um, yes?”

“Why?” Jessica turned to Ashley fully with her head cocked.

“Honey, I… I always do this. I don’t mind – I love keeping our house clean – and, let’s be real, it’d never be clean otherwise.”

“That’s totally not true,” Chloe, having gotten over her embarrassment, immediately protested.

“Nope, that’s totally true,” Stacie butted in.

“We’re slobs,” Flo added. “We’re lucky we don’t live in my home country or else we’d be in a much worse condition.”

“Oh, come on. Someone else has to help around,” Chloe tried.

“Okay, ‘fess up,” Fat Amy said rhetorically, gesturing to the group. When no one came forth, Aubrey snorted.

“You guys are the worst. Why don’t you actually help out?”

“We’re moving out in, like, a week,” Beca pointed out, ignoring how the group immediately appeared to deflate just a little.

“All the more reason to get your shit together and clean the house for Emily and her new Bellas.” The future captain’s eyes glinted, and she perked up.

“Oh my gosh! That’d be such a great idea! Can we please do it?!”

“Yeah!” Chloe immediately replied, ignoring Beca’s protestations.

“I just said I don’t clean,” Fat Amy whined.

“The day before we all leave, we’ll write out a little chore wheel and clean the house from top to bottom!” Chloe gushed. Flo groaned.

“Or we’ll die trying,” Ashley deadpanned. Jessica gently nudged her in the ribs, then leaned over to grab another bottle of water.

“Thank you,” she whispered to Aubrey, and the former co-captain winked subtly.

“Once I helped clean up a morgue,” Lilly whispered, though it was thankfully overshadowed by a bird cawing over everyone’s heads. Chloe and Emily’s, as per usual, enthusiasm won in the end, and the conversation eventually lulled as everyone turned to their delicious lunches. Aubrey closed her eyes and set her finished food and drink to the side, leaning against Stacie with a satisfied smile and a slight tingling, the latter due to the few glasses of wine she consumed.

“ _Ooh, ooh, ooh…_ ” she suddenly began singing, and the rest of the girls turned to her with smiles. “ _Ooh, ooh, ooh…_ ” Cynthia-Rose, Emily, and Fat Amy quickly followed along with a tune meant to resemble the sound of a ukulele, and Flo and Lilly added in a gentle bass and bass drum, respectively.

“ _My, my, my_ ,” Jessica picked up.

“ _Ooh, ooh, ooh…_ ”

“ _You belong with me…_ ” Chloe added.

“ _I was scared of dentists and the dark…_ ” Aubrey sang again, holding Stacie’s hand. The brunette gave Aubrey’s a squeeze and grinned. “ _I was scared of pretty girls and starting conversations…_ ”

“ _All my friends are turning green…_ ” Stacie took over. “ _You’re the magician’s assistant in their dream…_ ”

“ _Ooh, ooh, ooh…_ ”

“ _My, my, my…_ ” Jessica sang.

“ _Ooh…_ ”

“ _Come on, skinny love._ ” Aubrey and Stacie duetted the chorus.

“ _Lady, running down to the riptide… Taken away to the dark side… I wanna be your left-hand man…_ ” Aubrey turned around to gaze into Stacie’s eyes. “ _And I love you, when you’re singing that song and… I got a lump in my throat ‘cause… You’re gonna sing the words wrong…_ ”

“ _I tell my love to wreck it all…_ ” Ashley began. “ _Cut out all the ropes and let me fall…_ ”

“ _My, my, my… My, my, my… My, my, my…_ ” Jessica responded, and the two turned to each other.

“ _Right in the moment, this order’s tall_ ,” they sang gently.

“ _Ooh, ooh, ooh…_ ” Aubrey supplied.

“ _I belong with you…_ ” Chloe added.

“ _Ooh, ooh, ooh…_ ”

“ _You belong with me…_ ”

“ _Ooh, ooh, ooh…_ ”

“ _You’re my sweetheart…_ ”

“ _I belong with you, you belong with me, you’re my sweetheart…_ ” Beca finally sang. “ _I belong with you, you believe with me, you’re my sweet…_ ”

“ _Love, we need it now…_ ” Beca and Chloe finished. “ _Let’s hope for some now… ‘Cause, oh, we’re bleeding out…_ ” Together, everyone sang,

“ _I belong with you, you belong with me, you’re my sweet... heart…_ ”

A comfortable silence settled over the group. Aubrey raised a finger to wipe away some tears that had formed, and Stacie pulled her close from behind. Jessica and Ashley immediately settled against each other. Chloe reached out to take Beca’s hands, then pulled her in for a hug whilst trying to swallow down her own tears. Cynthia-Rose grinned and rubbed Stacie on the back, Fat Amy smiled and ruffled Beca’s hair, Flo smirked and shook her head, and Lilly stared at everyone with a small smile.

“I love you nerds,” Beca finally said, sniffling. With glistening eyes, the other girls nodded their agreements, and Chloe put out a shaking hand into the middle of the circle.

“Hands in, girls,” she said quietly.

“One…” The other girls quickly followed suit.

“Two…” Aubrey counted. Together, the Barden Bellas pushed their hands down before raising them up and over their heads.

“ _Ahhh…_ ”


End file.
